Life is Good
by GuardianOfTheFandoms
Summary: Life is good for Max Caulfield. She has Chloe, goes to an amazing school, and has a future in photography. She couldn't be happier. Completely AU, with no rewind powers. Pricefield.
1. Chapter 1

**(I really wanted to write this because I'm complete Pricefield trash and I need my dose of fluff. It's like my drug. I'm having withdrawals. So it's AU, no rewind, no Chloe dying at every turn. Max didn't leave, but she still goes to Blackwell, William dies, Joyce is married to David, Chloe is punk-ified because punk Chloe is life, blah blah blah. Read on and enjoy. If you do, you should leave a review. They make me happy.)**

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I wake up to multiple texts from my best friend of nearly ten years. And, just recently, my girlfriend. I had loved her forever, but I'm terrible at flirting and I was too shy to outright tell her. She ended up daring me to kiss her, so I did. And it escalated from there.

 **Chloe-** "mad max were hanging out today"

 **Chloe-** "2 whales"

 **Chloe-** "be there by 10"

 **Chloe-** "if im not there mom will feed you"

 **Chloe-** "MAX"

She stopped annoying me then. Dog, how does she get up that early? Or stay up that late. I groan softly, getting out of my bed and grabbing my bathroom stuff. I head to the bathroom, stopping to wipe away the message that Victoria had left on my board.

'FUCK OFF WARREN, I LIKE CHICKS' Wow, Victoria. Very mature. But it is true... I'm not really into Warren. I mean, I like him, but just as a friend. He tries too hard.

Oh, Dog! I haven't even told him about Chloe yet. He's just gonna think I'm blowing him off for no reason now. I'll tell him if I run into him later. I quickly draw a camera on my board before heading to the bathroom and taking a quick shower. I put my pajamas back on and head to my room to get dressed. No Victoria interaction this time.

I step into my room, sighing softly. I get dressed in my jeans, Jane Doe shirt and my hoodie. I grab my beloved camera bag and pull it on. I step out of my room again, walking down the hallway.

Oh no. Alyssa is standing in front of a window. This can't be good. I walk over to the accident-prone girl. "Hey, Alyssa, could you go stand over there?" I point away from the window. I just have a hunch that something bad is going to happen if she stands there for much longer.

"Sure, Max. You're probably saving me again." She steps aside. Then a football comes crashing through the window. Sorry, Samuel... We hear a faint 'Shit, man, good job!' from one of the Bigfeet. Wowzers. If so many accidents happen when they're practicing, I can't imagine what it must be like during the actual games.

"No problem, Alyssa. Just be careful. I'll catch you later." I wave to her, continuing down the hall. As usual, Dana's door is hanging wide open, and loud, happy music is blasting.

I might as well say hi to her. Dana's nice, especially for a Vortex Club member. I walk into her room. She already has most of the decorations for her Halloween party. Which the Vortex assholes like Victoria and Nathan aren't invited to.

Dana is sitting on the couch, bent over a list of party supplies that she still needs. "Hey, Max. Do you know where I can find orange Christmas lights?" She looks up, smiling at me.

"I don't think you can find Christmas lights this far away from Christmas. But maybe that party shop in town has something." I shrug. Dana's obsession with Halloween is kinda adorable.

"Alright, I'll try there. What did Chloe say about coming to the party?" Dana had been trying to get us to come to her party together ever since she found out that we're dating. She's all for us, which I think is pretty sweet.

"She's still refusing. Don't worry, I'll get her to come. It'll be fun, I'm sure of it. When we were little, we used to play pirates together all the time. So we'll probably come as that."

Dana smiles happily. "Okay. Thanks, Max. I'll see you later." I nod, smiling back before leaving. Alright, now to get to the bus stop. Hopefully without anymore interruptions.

I leave the dorm building. And then the first person I see is Warren, hurrying towards me. I sigh softly. Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to break the news to him.

"Hey, Maxamillion! Guess what? The drive in is having a Back to the Future marathon! Wanna come?" He smiles, slowing down and stopping in front of me. "We could go together. It's this Friday."

"Um, sorry, Warren. I can't. I'm busy this Friday. Going on a date. With my girlfriend." Shit. That came out more awkward than I hoped it would. Warren looks crushed. And Chloe isn't actually taking me on a date. Sorry, Warren.

"Oh... Girlfriend? I didn't know you liked girls.." He rubs the back of his neck, looking down. "Is it that blue-haired girl you're always hanging out with? Didn't she get expelled? I think she's a bad influence on you, Max."

"Thanks, Mom. Yeah, it's her. And she's not a bad influence, just... a trouble-maker." Great, Max. Use your brain sometimes. "Um, I should go. Bye, Warren. I'll catch you later."

I hurry to the bus stop and get on the bus the second it comes. I sit down and lean my head against the window, putting my headphones on to block out the world. I stare out the window, looking for photo opportunities.

The bus stops at the Two Whales about ten minutes later. I get off of the bus, heading into the diner. I sit down at our regular booth, the one with the math formula on it. Chloe wasn't there yet. Leave it up to her to be late.

Joyce walks over, one hand on her hip, the other carrying a coffee pot. She pours coffee into my cup. "Hey, hon. How's everythin' at Blackwell goin'?" I smile at Joyce.

"Good. My classes are good, and I don't have bad grades. Nothing below a B." Joyce swats at my arm.

"Good job, Max! I'm proud of you, hon. Now, down to the important stuff. What are you havin' for breakfast?"

I tell Joyce her order, eggs and bacon. Like usual. Joyce walks back to the counter, yelling the order to the back. Chloe walks in, the little bell on the door ringing.

She walks over to the booth, grinning at me happily. "Hey, Max-a-roon. I missed you and all of your dorky glory." She sits down, leaning over the table. "Guess what?"

"Hey, Che. I missed you and all of your punky glory." I reach over and grabs her girlfriend's hand. "What did you do this time?"

"Not everything I do involves breaking the law. Just.. Just most of it." I laugh, and Chloe rolls her eyes. "No. I'm taking you on a date this Friday. And I'm paying, cuz you always do." Great, that whole Warren thing kinda worked out.

"How romantic," Joyce says, standing next to the table now, with a plate in her hand. "That's nice of you, Chloe." She smiles at her daughter, setting my plate down in front of me. "Eat up, kiddo. Chloe, yours will be out in a minute." Joyce had supported our relationship from the second we told her. She said that she could see it coming from a mile away, because it's so obvious that we love each other. David, on the other hand, wasn't too supportive. He all but banned me from the house, but Joyce never would have let that happen.

"Thanks, Joyce," I say, taking a bite. "And say thanks to the cook."

"Of course, darlin'." She leaves, taking a few more orders from other customers.

"So, where are you taking me on this date?" I play with Chloe's fingers, studying her face. Chloe grins her signature, 'I'm up to no good' grin. I really hope this turns out okay, instead of another situation where we end up running from the cops. Like a few nights ago, when we broke into Blackwell to go swimming. Well, we didn't really break in. Chloe has David's spare keys.

"No, it's a surprise. Also, you know that Halloween party you and that Dana chick keep begging me to go to?" I nod. "We can go, on one condition. We go as pirates, just for old times sakes. You know, Captain Chloe and the first mate, Max the Marauder."

I giggle at the old memories popping up, especially the ones in our old treehouse. We had so much fun playing there, but after a while we had stopped going there. We also kinda stopped playing pirates. I guess we just grew out of it. "Che, after breakfast we should go to our old treehouse."

Chloe nods. "Sounds like a plan, Maxi-pad." I glare at her. She loves to call me that, just because I hate it so much. The blue-haired girl smirks. "Sorry, babe. You know how much I love annoying you."

I roll my eyes, continuing to eat my breakfast. Chloe's arrives, and we finish our food together. We both stand, and I leave a ten on the table. I don't want Joyce to have to pay for it. We both say goodbye to Joyce, leaving.

"Time for a trip down memory lane, babe." Chloe wraps an arm around my shoulder, kissing my cheek softly. I cuddle into her side, wrapping my arm around her waist.

I wish we could have stayed like that longer, but we eventually pull apart and walk to the parking lot, to Chloe's old beater. We get in, and the truck roars to life. I stare out the window, smiling softly as the town flies by.

We eventually enter the woods, and Chloe stops the truck. We get out and walk to the treehouse, hand in hand. Chloe goes up first, helping me up. I never liked the rickety old ladder that we used to get up and down. But it's better than nothing. The treehouse is starting to see the effects of old age. A few of the boards are missing, but it's still safe enough.

We sit on the dusty old floor, staring out at the peaceful woods. Chloe hugs me again, nuzzling my neck softly. I smile, hugging her back.

"Che, what's with you being extra affectionate?" She had been less moody and angry lately, and had been super sweet lately. Not that I was complaining or anything, the extra attention was nice.

"I just realized that you make me happy, and I should be nicer to the love of my life," She says quietly. I smile softly, kissing the corner of his lips.

"That's sweet, Che. I love you too." I lay back, pulling her with me. We lay on our sides, facing each other. I can't believe how beautiful Chloe is. I reach out and place my hand on her cheek, smiling softly.

She turns her head and kisses my palm. "I really do love you. I always have, Max. And I must be high or something, because I'd usually never admit that. You're turning me into a mush-ball, babe."

I laugh softly. "I like mush-ball Chloe. She's sweet." I lean forward and kiss her, smiling against her soft lips. She kisses me back, sliding her fingers through my hair. I pull back, pressing my forehead against hers.

I gaze into her bright blue eyes, smiling happily. We spend the rest of the day in the treehouse, talking and cuddling and kissing. I wouldn't want to spend my time with her any other way.

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 **(So, I think that was pretty good. The longest chapter I've ever written. So, I'm finishing this chapter at 2 AM. I've been writing for a good few hours, marathoning Criminal Minds and eating Goldfish. And I wouldn't want to spend my time any other way. Anyway, if you like it, leave a review. Thanks!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Hey, guys. So, last chapter. Last chapter got sooooo much support and like, at the time that I'm writing this, 14 people followed and I got like 3 reviews and 6 favorites. WOAH. Holy Dog. That's a ton, for me. Thank you to everyone that showed this story, which was just a little idea in the back of my head, so much support. Anyway, read on and enjoy. If you do, leave a review. Also, sorry if I start saying 'Max' instead of 'I.' I try to go through it and fix that if it happens, but that's like my one biggest enemy. As a side-note, Kate's video doesn't exist in this.)**

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Chloe and I are back in her truck. "Can you spend the night at my place tonight? I'll drive you home in the morning for class. Please?" Chloe looks at me with puppy dog eyes, pouting a little bit. I kiss the tip of her nose.

"Fine, Che. But no breaking into Blackwell again." I smile, pulling her beanie off. "Your hair dye is starting to fade." I slide my fingers through her hair. It was starting to fade, her regular blonde showing through. I pull her hat on, tapping her nose. "I need some of your clothes. I'm trying to Chloe cosplay."

"Ugh, fine. But you have to admit, that was super fun. And I bet you wearing my clothes would be sexy." Chloe smirks, turning the truck on. I punch her arm gently, my cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Chloe!" She laughs, proud of herself for being dirty. "Although... it might be." I shrug. Chloe laughs softly, starting the drive back to her place. I watch her face, which looks so happy and full of life. I think back to William's funeral... She looked so depressed then. She was angry and sad for so long after that. But I was there for her. I begged my parents not to make me move to Seattle with him, and they finally agreed to let me stay at Joyce and Chloe's house.

We reach her house. I get out of the death-trap that Chloe calls a truck. We walk into her house, talking about what she should do with her hair when she dyes it again.

She suggested adding purple highlights into her hair, along with the normal blue. "Maybe. You should do it, and we'll see if we like it or not." I shrug, playing with the ends of her hair.

"Alrighty, sounds like a plan. Thanks, babe." We walk up to her room, holding hands. I sit down on her bed, stretching out. Chloe rummages around her messy desk, eventually finding a disk. She pops it into her HiFi, and soft music fills the room. Not like what I would expect Chloe, the mother of punk rock, to listen to. But it's a nice change. Most of the time she does blast loud rock music, which David ends up yelling at her about.

Chloe also grabs a joint from her desk. She opens one of the windows, so the smoke won't stay in her room. Chloe lights it, and sits down in her desk chair. She takes a puff, spinning around in her chair. She holds it out. "Wanna try, Max-a-roon?"

I shake my head. "No thanks. I still go to Blackwell, Che. I have class in the morning."

She rolls her eyes. "You don't get a hangover from weed, babe. But, fine." She puts her feet up on the desk, continuing to smoke her weed. We hear a door slamming downstairs. "Shit, is that step-ass?" Chloe stands up, throwing the rest of the joint out the window.

"Chloe, are you smoking up there again?" David yells. Yes. It's step-ass.

"No, David. Quite being so damn paranoid!" Chloe yells back. I watch Chloe, her expression now dark and angry. She hates David so much, and I don't really blame her. I know he just wants the best for his family, but he could at least be nicer to Chloe. And Chloe could give him a chance.

"I'm comin' up there!" He starts coming up the stairs. Chloe stands up, walking to the door. She opens it, holding her arms wide.

"See? No joint, asshole. No weed. Nothing." They glare at each other, David with his hands on his hips, and Chloe with her arms crossed. David looks behind Chloe, at me.

"Why is she here?" He gestures to me. I look down, really not wanting any confrontation between us. I try to be as nice as possible to David, but I'm also afraid of making Chloe mad.

So I try to just be neutral. I have to be, like, Switzerland. Don't join Germany, don't join the Allies.

Chloe gives him a death glare. "She's here because she can be here. She's here because she's my best friend, and I love her. Now just leave us alone before Mom makes you sleep on the couch again for being a dick."

He turns around, slamming the door. I wince slightly at the loud noise. I really hope Chloe doesn't get in trouble for yelling at him again. She walks over to me, sighing softly.

Chloe sits down, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. "It's okay, Maxy. It's not your fault that he's a huge asshole. Don't worry." She kisses my forehead, closing her eyes.

I hug her back, resting my head against her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I wish you didn't have to go through that. He... He's too hard on you." I rub her back softly, hoping to comfort her a little bit.

She pulls back, pressing her forehead against mine. "Yeah. He is. But I have you, so... We're going to be okay. Maybe we should just, like, run away together and get married."

I smile softly. "Well, let's wait a little while for that. I don't think either of us have enough money for rings or anything. In a few years, Che. Promise." I kiss her forehead, pulling her closer.

"Okay." She nods, pulling me into her lap. I nuzzle her neck, breathing in her scent. She smells like alcohol and weed, and just... Chloe. "Hey, Max, I love you. And, it's getting late, so, let's go to bed." She pulls away, standing up and walking over to her dresser. I look away to give her a little bit of privacy. A moment later, she throws some clothes at me. "They might be a little big."

I nod, getting dressed in the t-shirt and shorts she gave me. They were big, but other than that, they fit fine. We get into bed, snuggling closer to each other. Chloe gently kisses me, pulling away after a minute.

"Night, Max."

"Night, Che."

Chloe gives me some of her clothes in the morning, a red, plaid, flannel shirt, and black jeans, both ripped a little bit. But they fit, and I like them. She drives me back to Blackwell, and gives me a goodbye kiss before she leaves. I walk into campus, stopping to talk to Daniel for a few minutes. I ask him to draw me again, because he did that one time, and it looked really good. I made it my Facebook profile picture.

He tells me that he'll draw me anytime I ask. I thank him and leave, walking into the Prescott Dormitories. Ugh, it still makes me shudder to know that Nathan's family owns the place where I live.

I sigh softly, unlocking my door and stepping inside. I water Lisa and sit down at my desk, finishing up an assignment for Mrs. Grant's class. I check the time. There's still about a half hour until I have to go to my first class. I should go say hi to Kate.

I stand up and leave, going to Kate's room and knocking on the door. She tells me to come in. I do, smiling at her. "Hey, Kate. How are you?"

Kate smiles back at me. "Hi, Max. I'm good, how about you?" I sit down next to her on the couch.

"I'm okay. By the way, thanks for letting me borrow The October Country. I can't believe that I haven't read more Bradbury. Who knew that he could be such a poet?"

"Of course, you can feel free to borrow whatever you want. I have some more Bradbury, if you would like. I like him too." Kate nods, smiling softly. "How's Chloe doing?" I had been a little bit surprised that she was okay with Chloe and I being together, because she's so religious. But she said that she's fine with whatever people do, as long as they aren't hurting someone else. She said that love is love, and people shouldn't judge.

I think that's a good way to look at life. She even said that Chloe and I make a cute couple. Thanks, Kate.

"By the way, I like your new look," Kate says, gesturing to the clothes that I'm wearing.

We talk for a few more minutes before we have to head to Mr. Jefferson's class. Once there, we sit down in our respective seats. Jefferson walks in, and class starts. He lectures us about a photography technique, and I somehow manage to answer some of the questions correctly.

At the end of the class, he talks about the Everyday Heroes contest. "Yes, Max, I see you pretending not to see me. You only have a few days until the deadline, so get to work!"

Everyone leaves, except for Victoria, of course. She's still all over him all the time. It's gross, to be honest. I couldn't imagine flirting with a teacher, no matter how cute they are.

I leave, putting my earbuds in. Maybe I should just go walk around campus for a while until I find something to take a picture of. I'm not sure if I even want to enter into the Everyday Heroes contest. I hate having the spotlight trained on me.

I push the door open, stepping outside. I look out at all of the people, the skaters doing tricks, the Bigfoot players throwing a ball back and forth. I smile a little bit. Maybe I'm starting to feel some Blackwell pride.

Or not. I take a walk around the school grounds, taking a picture of a squirrel sitting on a bench. There are squirrels all over, and they're all so fearless. They seem to be used to people being around, because you can get really close to them before they run away.

Samuel once told me that his spirit animal is a squirrel. I wonder what mine is. I hope it's something like a doe. They're graceful and pretty. But I'm a huge klutz, so maybe not...

The rest of the day passes slowly. I go to the rest of my classes and back to my dorm, doing my homework and reading from the textbook Jefferson gave us. I wish Chloe would text me or call me or something. She always has something exciting to do.

I'm in luck. My phone buzzes a few minutes later. Chloe sent me a text! Finally.

 **Chloe-** "you me fountain now"

I guess she means the fountain out front. I wonder what she has in store for me this time...

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 **(Alrighty, there's the end of chapter two. Again, thank you to everyone that has read and shown this story support. It really means a ton to me, so thank you once again. I'm thinking about doing a schedule for this story, even though I'm 99% sure that I won't keep to it. Oh well! I'm gonna go finish watching Big Hero 6 now. If you liked it, leave a review. Pwease.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**(I'm gonna start typing a bunch of stuff in advance, cuz I can. Anyway, are you ready for some jealous Chloe and major fluff? Like, an entire sheep. Wow lambs are super cute. Anyway, read on and enjoy. If you do, leave a review. Thanks for reading.)**

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I grab one of my oversized hoodies, pulling it on. Now it's time to go meet Chloe by the fountain. I really wonder what she's planning for us today. I walk down the hallway, waving at Dana when I pass by her room.

She's having a great time here. It's good to see that at least one person here is having a good time. Well... I like it here. I have Chloe, who makes me happier than I ever have been before, I go to Blackwell, on a scholarship, even. I have a future in photography, or so Jefferson says. I'm happy here.

Now, if the Vortex douches like Nathan and Victoria would go away, everything would be better. Most of the Vortex Club members aren't jerks. Like Dana, and Taylor, when she's not with Victoria.

Now outside, I walk down the path leading to the fountain. I see Chloe there, sitting on the edge. She's getting some stares from other students, obviously. It's not every day that you see the punk chick who got kicked out of school for vandalizing Principal Wells' car. And, of course, various other run ins with the police.

I walk over to her, still behind her so she can't see me yet. Smirking softly, I wrap my arms around her, kissing her neck.

She jumps, yelping slightly. "Fucking Max! You hella scared me." She turns around, glaring at me. And I'm almost in tears from laughing so hard. Chloe likes to sneak up behind me and scare me, so I just gave her a taste of her own medicine.

"I'm sorry, Che. But, you have to admit. That was funny," I say, finally calmed down. I walk over to her, hugging her again. She hugs me back after a minute. I kiss her cheek, smiling softly.

"Fine, it was funny." Chloe begrudgingly admits. She pulls away, sitting back down. I sit next to her, leaning into her side. "Alright, wanna know what we're gonna do today?"

"Mhm, I'm sure that you're up to no good." I smile, kissing her neck everywhere.

"No. I told you, not everything I do is illegal. No, today we are going to stay in your room, cuddle, and watch movies. And tomorrow we are going... Somewhere. And we may or may not be doing something illegal there."

I roll my eyes at the last part. "Alright, Che. C'mon, let's get going." I stand up, grabbing her hand and pulling her up with me. And then Warren shows up.

"Hey, Maxamillion! What's going on? Hey, that offer for the drive-in is still open," He hold up two tickets. He already got the tickets? Really?

"Warren, I still can't. I'm sorry." I look up at Chloe, hoping that she would drag me away or something. No such luck.

"Hey, when's this drive-in thing happening? Cuz, y'know, I could come. Keep Max some company," Chloe says, glaring at Warren. She obviously doesn't like him. I tug on her hand, glancing at Warren.

"Chloe... I'm not going with him to the drive-in. I told him that you're taking me on a date on Friday," I murmur. She looks down at me, then back up at Warren.

"Um, the movie is on Friday... But, um, I was hoping that Max and I could go alone. Together." He glances around, looking at pretty much everything that isn't Chloe.

"Well, you're out of luck. She's busy Friday, being with me. And, dude, a drive-in? Really? That's like, the least romantic thing ever. Drive-ins suck." Warren stares at her.

"B-but... I... We... Max..." He stares at me, looking a little bit desperate.

"Sorry, Warren," I call over my shoulder as Chloe drags me away from him, in the direction of the dorms.

She pulls me into the building, then presses my back against the wall. She presses her lips tight against mine. I kiss back, placing my hands on the sides of her neck. Chloe presses closer into me, our lips slowly disconnecting and connecting again.

I slowly pull away, my breath a little bit quicker than usual. I press my face into her shoulder, my breathing slowing down after a few minutes. That was nice. Chloe is so much better than me at kissing.

She strokes my hair softly. "Baby, I am a jealous motherfucker. And I love you. I love you a ton." She leans her forehead against mine, closing her eyes slowly.

I kiss the tip of her nose. "I love you too, Che. Come on, let's go up to my room now." I push her away gently, grabbing her hand and tugging her along. She follows me, holding my hand tightly.

We walk down the hallway, stopping to tell Dana that we'll be coming to her party, which is on Saturday. She smiles and thanks us. We're down at my door now, and I'm unlocking it when I hear the voice of Queen Bitch.

"Oh look, it's the lovebirds of Blackwell Academy. You know, Max, you could make your skills with a camera useful. Pick up a webcam and film some porn with your 'Che', over there," Victoria says, with her nasty little smirk. But, hey, she kinda just complimented me for my camera skills.

Chloe steps towards her. She's taller than Victoria, so hopefully she's a little bit intimidated. "If you say one more bad word to my Max, I will punch you so hard that you'll need another nosejob." Her tone of voice is quiet and calm, but deadly angry.

Victoria looks up at her, scoffing. "You act soo big and tough, but really, you're just a hurt, angry little girl who wants to feel special. It's a shame you got kicked out of Blackwell, too. I heard that you had a lot of potential in art." That was true. Chloe got a scholarship here, for art. She's amazing at drawing. She designed most of her tattoos herself.

"Maxy, I'm going to fuck her up. I'm really sorry if this gets you in trouble." Chloe walks closer to her, glaring down at the shorter girl. I grab Chloe's arm, tugging at it.

"No, Che. She's just trying to aggravate you, it's okay." I tug her closer, really not wanting them to fight. That would get Chloe in so much trouble with David... She's technically not even supposed to be here. "Please, let's just go inside. Please, Chloe."

She looks back at me, looking kinda conflicted. "I... Max..." She looks back at Victoria, frowning. She was torn between hurting the girl who was being a bitch to the love of her life, or backing down and making Max happy.

After a moment, she decides that Max is more important. Much more important. She steps back, wrapping one arm around my waist to pull me closer to her. "This hella isn't finished, you hear me? I am not letting Max take any more of your bullshit."

She pulls me into my room. I frown up at her, crossing my arms. "Chloe. I don't want you getting in more trouble, especially not in a place where you aren't supposed to be."

Chloe looks down, grabbing both of my hands. "Max, sweetie, I'm so sorry. I... I just don't want people making my Maxy upset. I want you to be happy and safe, and I want to be able to give you that."

I sigh softly, wrapping my arms around her waist after a moment. "You are not going to fight Victoria. We both just need to leave her alone, ignore her. She's a manipulative bitch."

She nods, pressing her face into my neck. "I won't. Fighting her would be stupid. It would get you into trouble. I'm not that stupid." She pulls away, her piercing blue eyes gazing into mine.

I pull her down onto the bed, grabbing a blanket and pulling it over us. I kiss her all over, pressing my lips against her face and neck everywhere that I can. Chloe laughs, tilting her head away.

"Max, you're being hella adorable. I expect an explanation. You were mad a minute ago," she murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss to my neck.

"I just realized... That you're a hella good girlfriend... And I wanna be with you forever." I kiss her soft, sweet lips over and over again, saying that between kisses.

She rolls over on top of me, smirking. Chloe leans down and kisses me, pulling away after only a few seconds. "Remember the first time we met, babe? You looked adorable."

I groan softly. Oh, wowzers. The first time we met was in second grade. We were both in the school play, and I had to dress up as a ladybug. Chloe, on the other hand, was a bee.

She somehow ended up pushing me off of the stage. I'm not gonna go into detail. But it was embarrassing, to say the very least. Both of our parents were mad at us for ruining the play, but we ended up becoming friends after that, and the rest is history. "Yes, Che, I remember very well. That's why I don't like bees."

"Oh, hush. I made a terrific bee, you have to admit. You probably thought that I was sexy in that costume." She smirks, leaning down and kissing my neck again.

I nearly choke. "Chloe! We were, what, seven? I did not think that you were sexy." My cheeks are bright red, and my face feels hot. Wow, Che. She's laughing hard, now on her back next to me. I smack her with a pillow. "You're totally sexy now, but not in that bee costume. You looked... you looked like a bee. And bees are evil little... Things."

"Okay, true. Heyyyy, let's watch movies now. And let's watch Disney movies so I can comfort you when you get sad." I roll my eyes, but get up and put The Lion King in the DVD player. We used to watch this all the time when we were young. I smile softly, returning to the bed, and Chloe's arms.

Wowzers, I almost forgot how sad Mufasa's death was. It might have made me cry. Just a little bit. Chloe laughs softly, kissing my tears away. "Maxy, I told you that I would have to comfort you."

I bury my face into her shoulder. "I hate Scar. You know what? Victoria is Scar, and Nathan is that one completely insane hyena." This makes Chloe laugh again.

"True. That's, like, perfect." She pulls me closer, kissing my forehead. "So, does that mean that Nathan eats Victoria?" She wiggles her eyebrows, smirking. I nearly choke again.

"Oh my Dog, Chloe!" I cover my blushing face with my hands, trying not to burst out in laughter. That was actually pretty funny... And probably true. They seem to have some sort of rich-kid love going on.

We put Finding Nemo on after that, which we also watched when we were little. We used to pretend that we were scuba divers when our moms took us to the pool. We would search for treasure, which would be a toy that one of us had brought along.

I smile softly, cuddling up into my Che and closing my eyes. She kisses my ear gently, whispering goodnight to me. I soon fall asleep, safe and happy in Chloe's arms.

* * *

"Max. Maxy. I counted the freckles on your face. You have 78 freckles."

I hit Chloe with a pillow for the second time tonight.

* * *

( **And that shall be the end of chapter three. I don't know where I pulled the Chloe and Max meeting story out of, but it's all I could think of. If I can think of a good story to put behind it, I might write a one-shot that describes it in better detail. Anyway, if you liked it, leave a review. Pretty please.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**(I've become addicted to writing. I mean, I wrote a lot before I started this account, but none of the stuff I wrote was good. Now I feel like it's so much better and getting popular and wow. Thank you for being so supportive. Writing really lets me take my mind off of my life and stuff and get lost in something amazing. Also, in the story, it's Tuesday, October 13, 2015. I'm gonna say that gay marriage was legalized on October 13, for the story's sake. Thank you again. Read on and enjoy, and if you do, drop a review.)**

* * *

"Good morning, Maxaroni," Chloe whispers into my ear. I whine softly, trying to push her away. I wanted to go back to sleep... I feel so safe and warm and happy. It would be nice to never ever leave.

She trails her fingers slowly down my neck, climbing on top of me. I gently push her, opening my eyes slowly. She smiles down at me, strands of her blue hair falling down around her face. I groan softly, reaching up for her shoulders so I can pull her down closer to me. Chloe leans down and hugs me to her chest, kissing the top of my head.

I smile happily, snuggling closer to her. "Aww, my little Maxy. So sleepy and adorable. But you have to get up soon. We have things to do today, baby." I whine again, shaking my head. Chloe rolls her eyes. "Okay, fine. Five more minutes, then you're getting that fine ass of yours out of bed. Okay?"

I nod, spending those five minutes happily cuddling my Che. She pats my leg, sitting up. "C'mon, babe. Your five minutes are up." I groan softly, slowly sitting up and stretching out.

Chloe stands up, grabbing the clothes she had given me and throwing them in my direction. "Here you go." I catch them and stand up, then get dressed. Chloe is still wearing her clothes from yesterday, seeing as she doesn't have clothes here and all of mine are too small for her.

She smiles, studying me. "You do look pretty damn sexy wearing my clothes. You should do it more often, cutie." She walks over to me, placing her hands on my arms.

I blush slightly, glancing down. "Thanks," I mumble, looking back up at her for a second. She laughs, kissing my forehead.

"You're adorable Max. And you're beautiful, really. Don't be shy, Max-a-roon. Now, come on. To the Two Whales."

We leave the dorm building, walking down a path leading to the front of campus. We're holding hands, and our fingers are laced tightly together. Some other students still give us looks, but not as often as they did when we first got together.

No one ever makes any bad comments on our relationship. The last person who did got a black eye from Chloe. We walk over to Chloe's old beater and get into it. She starts it up, the engine roaring to life. Even though it's years upon years old, it works like it's brand new.

I stare out the window, at all the passing scenery. One day, I would like to go up to the lighthouse and take a picture of the sun setting over the ocean. I know, I know, that shot is overused. But, really, it would be beautiful.

Oh, Dog! That reminds me, I still have to turn in something for the Everyday Heroes contest. I look down at my camera bag, frowning. I still didn't want to enter, but Jefferson would have my head on a pike if I don't. I mean, I doubt that I'll win anyway. Someone like Kate should win. I don't _want_ to win. That'll mean going to San Francisco, where I won't be able to see Chloe.

But, at the same time, it would be a great introduction into the photography world. I look over at Chloe, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. I want to stay with my Che, but I also need to get a jump on a photography career.

Maybe, if I do win, I can find some way to make Jefferson let me bring her along... I have to at least try. Everybody who entered the contest will probably get at least a little bit of publicity, not just the person who wins.

Chloe's voice breaks my thoughts. "Um, Earth to Max. Anybody home?" She waves her hand in front of my face. I blink a couple of times, looking over at her with an apologetic smile. "We're here," she says.

"Sorry, Che. I spaced out there for a second. Thinking." I get out of her truck, walking up to the door. I hold it open for Chloe, who thanks me. Polite Chloe? Maybe I am a good influence on her.

We walk to our booth, sitting down across from each other. Joyce comes over and gives us coffee, then takes our orders. I sit there sipping my coffee and staring out the window, while Chloe messes around on her phone.

Before I know it, I'm zoned out again, thinking of us. Our relationship. It was going good. A lot of people support us, especially Joyce. But... I still haven't told my parents. I really don't know how they're gonna take it... I'm too nervous to tell them. And, of course, there's that problem of us getting married. Chloe had brought it up a few times, saying that we could run away and elope, but I said that I wanted to wait until we were old enough and it was legal nationwide. She had pouted, but finally agreed after a while.

"Holy shit, Max! Max, look!" Chloe says, now standing up and holding her phone in front of my face.

"Chloe, keep it down over there." Joyce calls from behind the counter. I'm busy staring at her phone screen. She was looking at the news. And the front headline, in big bold letters, says this:

 **Supreme Court rules in favor of gay and lesbian marriage nationwide.**

 _Holy shit!_ I grab her phone, scrolling through the article. My eyes widen. "Chloe," I whisper. "Chloe. Chloe!" I jump up, throwing my arms around her. She hugs me back, laughing happily. I feel giddy and excited, like nothing could come in the way of our relationship now. Not Victoria, or David, or _anyone._

Joyce walks over and sets our plates down. "What has gotten into you girls?"

Chloe grabs her phone and shoves it towards her mother, then goes back to hugging me. She whispers softly into my ear, saying how much she loves me and how excited and happy she is. Joyce reads through it, a smile forming on her face. "Well, I'll be. That's great girls, but you two aren't gettin' married just yet." She gives both of us a quick hug.

I nod. "We know. We're going to wait until we're older and both have jobs and stuff. Thank you, Joyce."

"Yeah Mom, thank you. Thank you for supporting us and not being a dick about it like David... Thanks." Chloe looks up at her mom. Joyce pats her arm, then walks away back to the counter.

I look back at Chloe, grabbing her shoulders. "Che, we can get _married._ In a few years we're gonna be married and you're gonna be my _wife._ " I giggle a little bit, leaning my forehead against hers.

"I know, babe. We're gonna get hella married, and it's gonna be the best day of my life." She kisses me softly before pulling away and sitting back down. I sit as well, my smile still lingering.

We continue to talk about it. Chloe rambles on about how 'hella fucking happy' she is. It's adorable.

We eat quickly so we can leave quickly. I leave a ten on the table, standing up and walking out with Chloe. Hand in hand, of course.

Both of us get in, buckling up. Cars are pretty much the only thing she's cautious with... She's lectured me over and over about how important it is to be safe on the road. I don't blame her... Because of William.

No, Max. Don't make yourself sad, you just got terrific news. Just thinking about that makes the smile return to my face.

We drive for a few minutes, before ending up at Chloe's house. I glance at her, a bit confused. "I just need to grab something, Maxamillion. Be right back." She disappears inside, coming back out a few minutes later.

"What did you have to get?" I ask once she's back in the truck. She throws a roll of instant film at me. I catch it, smiling. "You kept complaining about how expensive it is, so I got you some. Consider it a present."

"Aww, thank you. That's sweet of you Che." I lean over and kiss her cheek, which makes her smile.

"No big deal, babe." She keeps driving, and we end up at the junkyard.

"Welcome to American Rust. My home away from hell," both of us say at the same time, grinning. The junkyard is one of Chloe's favorite hangouts. I don't mind it, actually. It's sorta fun hanging out there with her.

We get out of the truck, walking into it. It's mainly a mess of old vehicles, cars, a bus, and that big boat, and other random crap. "Max, you know your job. Go find me five bottles." Chloe smirks, pulling her -David's- gun out of her back pocket. I roll my eyes, going off in search of them.

I walk up the path to the boat, grabbing the plank and making a bridge out of it. I walk across it quickly. I absolutely hate having to use that thing. Even the boat is sturdier than that, and it's rusting and practically falling apart. I grab a glass bottle that was on the table, presumably from the last time Chloe was here, or some party.

"Chloe!" I call. She appears, standing under me. I drop the bottle down to her, then walk back over the 'bridge.' I move the plank back, then go off in search of some more.

While looking, I notice something new among the junk. It's a metal sign, probably from the lighthouse or some other place surrounded by the woods.

 **CAUTION: WILD ANIMALS. DO NOT WANDER FROM THE PATH.**

They must have replaced the signs. This one is starting to show the effects of old age. It's slightly rusted, and the letters are faded.

Then a butterfly lands on top of it. It's bright and blue, and... It looks like it's glowing. _Wowzers._ I had never seen a butterfly like that before. I quickly pull my camera out of its bag and snap a photo. I shake it a few times, before looking at the outcome.

I like this photo. Maybe I just solved the issue of figuring out what to turn in for that contest. I smile to myself, putting my things away in my bag. The butterfly floats away, almost like it was waiting for me to finish up.

 _Thank you._

I finally wander off, finding another bottle on top of a car. I grab it and return it to Chloe, who rewards me with a kiss.

Smiling softly, I go off to the bonfire spot. There are two there, which I grab and take back. And now for the last one. I search around, deciding to go to our little hangout after a few minutes.

The building is low and slightly decrepit, with Chloe's graffiti all over it... And a tiny bit of mine. I walk inside, looking around the small room. My favorite piece of graffiti is the one we did together.

 _Chloe was here_

 _Max was here_

I trail my fingers over the wall, sighing happily. We wrote that the first time Chloe took me here.

My mind snaps back to the task at hand, and I grab a glass beer bottle that was sitting on the floor. I return to her again, handing her the final bottle. She sets them up, then grabs the gun.

We had turned it into a sort of game of ours. No, we don't play pirates or scuba divers anymore, we play guns. I tell Chloe where to aim, and she shoots there.

She tries to shoot the first one without my guidance, but misses by a few inches. "Okay, aim left." She does, and pulls the trigger. The bottle shatters. We continue doing this, and she lets me shoot the last one.

I do, hitting it on the second try. I quickly give it back to her, still a bit nervous about playing with guns.

And then we hear the roar of an RV. The door slams from somewhere, and we hear him. "Chloe, you little punk bitch, where are you? I want my money!" I would know that voice anywhere.

Frank.

* * *

 **(And there is the end of chapter four. I would like to give a big shoutout to Candle in the Night, who is going to be my beta reader. Thank you! Anyway, thank everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed, and if you did, leave a review.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**(I feel like I have friends here. Like, every time I get a new review, or I check the stats and there are a ton more visitors and a ton of views, I'm like** ** _Hi, friends. Enjoy your stay in my little world._** **Anyway, sorry if I'm a bit bad at the romance. I've only actually had one boyfriend ever (Pathetic, I know) and he's also the only person that's ever asked me out. And it's long distance. But, hey, our 1 year anniversary was on June 20! Yay for me. I have something very mean for you guys planned in this chapter. Holy Dog, It'll make you have a feels trip. HAVE FUN! Anyway, read on and enjoy.** **Sidenote time. I just listened to this Irish guy named Damian Dempsy speaking and I think his voice is my new favorite thing.)**

* * *

Frank. _Frank!_

Shit. When Frank is around, it's never good. What did she do this time?

I grab her arm, tugging her around to face me. "Chloe Price, how much money do you owe Frank this time?" I hiss, making sure to keep my voice low. She looks down at the ground.

"A few thousand. Come on, we have to get out of here before he sees us and does something." She grabs my hand, pulling me towards the boat. We keep low to the ground and try to be as quiet as possible.

Chloe smiles sheepishly at me as we crouch down beside the boat. I peek my head out from our cover, seeing if I can spot Frank. Yeah. His back is currently to us, though, so we have to use our time wisely. We dash to the next place we can seek cover. Which is behind our little hideout. Which is probably the first place that he's going to check.

Shit.

"Chloe! You little fucker, I will find you! I want my goddamn money!" Frank shouts. I glance up through a window which gives us a clear view through the open door. Frank turns around, scanning the area.

I shudder at the sight of his face. _Such a creep... I can't believe Chloe used to hang out with him..._

Luckily, he doesn't see us. He wanders away, disappearing behind the boat. If he walks much further, he'll be able to see us.

We creep around from the back to the side of the building that faces away from the boat.

"Where do we go now?" I whisper, glancing at her truck across the junkyard. Frank had parked right next to it, so if they could reach the truck... Hopefully they would be able to get out of here before Frank finds them.

"Bus. It's halfway between here and the truck. C'mon, while he's still behind the boat." We take off. But we got the timing all wrong.

Just before we get there, we hear him shouting. "Chloe, you and your little hipster bitch better get over here right now!"

We run faster. We run for our lives. For all we know, our lives could be in danger. I hold Chloe's hand tighter, my heart starting to beat faster with panic and fear and adrenaline. What if he catches us? I try not to be terrified... but that doesn't work too well.

He starts running too, towards us. We make it to the bus. And so does he. Flicking his pocketknife open, he slowly walks towards us. I feel tears forming in my eyes. I had always cried easily. I had always been easy to scare. Chloe is the brave, fearless one here.

"What do you want, Frank?" She tries to play it cool, tries not to anger him any further. "If this is about your money, I'll, uh, have it in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking about getting a job as a tattoo artist. It might take a little while, but I think it'll pay well. You'l have your money then." She smiles at him, but I can see the blind panic in her eyes.

"I want my money, Price. And I want it now," he growls, stepping closer. He holds his knife out, waving it slightly at her. I stare at the knife, a few tears slipping down my cheeks.

 _The gun. I still have the gun._ How effective will a pocketknife be against a gun? Frank isn't focusing on me... There are two bullets left.

I lift it, my hands shaking slightly. And I aim it at Frank.

Chloe looks at me, her eyes widening. " _Holy shit, Max!"_ Frank also turns towards me, noticing her expression. He glares daggers at me, looking down at the gun in my shaking hands.

"Kid, put that gun down before I take it away from you. We all know you're not going to shoot me, anyway..." He slowly takes a step closer to me, still staring at the gun. "Little girls shouldn't be playing with guns." He takes another step closer.

I squeeze the trigger. The bullet hits the ground in front of him, making some of the dry, dusty dirt shoot up. "Shit kid, take it easy! I ain't gonna hurt you or nothing. Just give me the gun."

Tears are streaming down my face now. I might hate Frank, but I don't want to _hurt_ him. I don't want to hurt anyone. He then darts close to me, grabbing the gun out of my hands. I was just so scared, I couldn't do anything but let go.

 _"_ Don't you fucking touch her!" Chloe yells, holding her hand out. Frank whirls around, aiming the gun toward her.

And then I hear the loud crack of a gunshot. Then a deathly silence. Until I hear Chloe hitting the ground.

 _NO!_

"Shit, fuck, I didn't mean to! I-I didn't mean to!" He drops the gun, bolting back to the RV. The big vehicle speeds away as fast as possible.

I drop down onto my knees next to Chloe, staring at the red slowly spreading on her shirt. Frank shot her in the stomach. My mind kicks into overdrive. _Pressure. Pressure helps stop bleeding._ I press my hands against the wound, my tears dripping onto the ground next to her.

"Max? Maxy? Hi... It hurts, Max." She looks up at me with watery eyes, then down at my hands. "Maxy... M-make it stop hurting..." Oh, God. I want to make it stop hurting. I want to make my Chloe feel better again. I tear through my pockets, finally coming up with my phone. I dial 911.

The operator picks up. I press my other hand back onto the wound.

 _911, what's your emergency?_ She sounds so calm and collected... And here we are, going through chaos and Hell all wrapped up into one big bundle of joy.

I'm sobbing, and it's hard to breath. "M-my girlfriend was shot... We're at the junkyard and we're behind the bus and..." I manage to choke that out, then swallow hard to get rid of the lump in my throat. "We n-need an ambulance... Help, please!"

The lady says some things that I don't pay attention to. Until this: _There is an ambulance on its way._

I drop the phone, pressing both hands onto the wound, which thankfully isn't bleeding too profusely.

Chloe looks up at me, looking confused and dazed. "M-Max? Why a-are you crying? Don't cry..." She weakly reaches up, wiping a tear from my cheek. I smile as reassuringly as possible.

"Shh, Che. Be quiet. there are people coming to help you, okay? When they get here, everything will be better. Okay? You just have to hold on until then, baby." She nods, reaching for my hand. I grab her hand, lacing our fingers.

"Mm... Okay," Chloe murmurs, a soft smile on her lips. I lean down and kiss her forehead.

"Shh.. It's okay," I whisper. My heart's still pounding in my chest, but I'm crying less and I can breathe much better.

It's not long until we hear the sirens, signaling that help is coming. Chloe stares up at me the entire time, smiling. She can tell that I'm terrified, but she stays calm. For me.

The cars pull up and paramedics jump out. They shoo me away from Chloe, but when I refuse to leave they call an officer over. He takes me by the elbow, leading me away. I protest at first but eventually let him.

I look up at the officer's face. I vaguely remember seeing him, but I can't remember his name. My mind feels muddled and numb right now, so I don't care about knowing his name. All I care about is Chloe. He asks me to tell him everything that happened.

I do. I tell him everything, in a flat, low voice. He pats my shoulder and thanks me, then walks me back to the place where she was shot. He helps me collect my phone and camera bag, then he takes me to the paramedics. They say that they're taking Chloe to the hospital, and I can ride with her.

The officer helps me in once my Chloe is in. She's laying on a stretcher, her eyes closed. The big vehicle lurches away, the sirens turning on. We speed off towards the Aracadia Bay hospital.

Everything from then on is a blur... We go into the hospital, and they take Chloe to surgery. The cop calls Joyce and David. I sit down on one of those super uncomfortable chairs, staring down at the floor.

They come. Joyce hugs me tight, crying with me. David stands off to the side, but looks truly upset and concerned. Joyce sits next to me, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me closer. I just keep staring at the ground, the scene replaying over and over again in my mind.

I feel so tired... I lean my head against Joyce's shoulder, closing my eyes. I finally slip away into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

I wake up feeling no better than before. I had a nightmare. Where I just watched Chloe dying, over and over again. I thought my heart was about to break, honestly. If Chloe isn't okay... Then it probably will.

I glance up. Joyce is still there, holding me close. "I'm sorry," I mumble, closing my eyes again for a moment.

She rubs my back soothingly. "Hush, Max. You saved Chloe's life. You've got nothin' to be sorry for, honey." I sigh, leaning my head back against her shoulder.

A doctor comes out and tells us that Chloe will be fine, and he congratulates me on being so brave. I nod, smiling weakly. He then tells us that we can go in and visit her, if we want to.

I instantly jump up. Of course I'm going to spend every moment possible by her side. The doctor leads us into her room, pulling up a few chairs. We sit on either side of her.

I glace at all of the machines hooked up to her. I've always hated hospitals, ever since I swallowed my teddy bear's eye... I turn my attention back to Chloe. She's sleeping now, obviously hopped up on all sorts of drugs.

I softly take her hand, kissing each one of her fingertips. I lace my fingers with her, sort of forgetting that Joyce is there. I watch Chloe sleep, wishing there was something more that I could have done.

We stay with her as long as possible before the nurses come and kick us out. David and Joyce drive me back to Blackwell. Getting out of the car I manage to thank them before hurrying to the dorms, yearning for a shower and to go to bed.

I'm almost at my room when Victoria comes. "Oh, look who it is. No girlfriend this time?" I sigh, turning around. She looks slightly shocked when she sees how tired and sad I look.

I hold up my hand. "Not now, Victoria... I can't do this today." She gasps slightly, staring at my hand. I look at it. Shit, Chloe's blood is still on my hands... I have to wash that off. I don't want to remember what happened today.

She studies my face, chewing on her lip. After a moment she nods. "Okay... I'll see you tomorrow, I guess..." She turns and walks back into her room. I sigh softly, shuffling into my room. I just want this day to end already.

* * *

 **(And that is the end of chapter five. Sad, huh? I'll be honest, I teared up a few times while writing this. Anyway, leave a review telling me what you think. It's extremely helpful, and I appreciate it. Alright, I'm going to bed. It's 2 AM and I'm tired. Thanks for reading and reviewing.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**(Ugh. So, for some reason the site isn't letting me read the reviews for chapter five. I read them all on my email, but it's still super annoying. Does anyone know why this is happening? I can see all the reviews for chapters one through four, but not five. It's never done this before, and it's on everything. My laptop, my phone, the other computer, everything. I even tried to look at it on my other account, just through the story. NOTHING. So annoying. Anyway, read on and enjoy, while I continue to stab all of my electronics. As a side note, I had really good pizza today.)**

* * *

Chloe has to stay in the hospital for two weeks, and even after that, it'll hurt and she might need help to walk. The doctors say that surgery was successful. They managed to get the bullet out. It didn't hit anywhere vital, so she's going to be fine. They also said that without me there, she might have bled out.

It's only a day after she was shot. I refused to go to my classes, but I did manage to drag myself out of my room and down to Jefferson's classroom to hand in my Everyday Heroes picture. He looked concerned for me, probably because I look like shit. But I didn't want to tell him what happened. I didn't want to tell anyone what had happened.

So far, the people who have asked are Victoria, Kate, Dana, and Jefferson. I haven't explained it to anyone yet, except the officer who talked to me at the crime scene. I'm still not sure what his name is. I don't want to relive that scene more than I have to.

But then the nightmares come. I dream of Chloe getting shot over and over again, just like the dream I had in the hospital. I have it every time I fall asleep. And each time I wake up, crying or screaming. I'm afraid to go to sleep now.

I spend every minute that I can at the hospital, by her side. Most of the time she sleeps, but sometimes she'll wake up and give me a sleepy little smile. She doesn't talk very much, probably because of all the pain meds that she's on.

When she does talk, it's usually just incoherent mumbles. The doctors say that she's just tired, and soon enough she'll be up and talking again. I hope so. I'm sitting by her side right now, watching her sleep.

The door opens quietly and David walks in. He gives me a little smile. David cares about Chloe, he really does. He just doesn't know how to say it.

He pulls up a chair and sits next to me. "Uh, hey Max. I just wanted to let you know that the police are lookin' for Frank." I nod, glancing over at him. He looks exhausted. "I'm helpin' too. We're gonna catch that creepy bastard."

I smile weakly. "Thanks. Look, I know that you care about Chloe, just please, don't be as hard on her. She thinks... She thinks that you hate her. I'll tell her that you care."

He sighs, looking down at the floor. "I know, Max. I love her, and I care about her. Sometimes it's just hard to show it, you know? But I really do try. And she's always so angry at me... It seems like she thinks that I'm trying to replace William."

I pat his arm, kinda awkwardly. "I think she's still just mourning. Give her time, David."

David puts his head in his hands. "The only time I see her truly happy is when she's with you. I shouldn't be such a shitbird to you two. I'm so sorry." I pat his arm again, still awkward.

"It's okay, David. Um, is Joyce here?" I glance towards the door. He shakes his head.

"No. She's sleeping at home. She feels absolutely terrible, stayed up most of last night. She's taking a few days off of work so she can spend more time here." I nod, looking back down at Chloe. David clears his throat. "Max... Chloe took my gun, right? The one found in the junkyard, I mean. That looks like my gun that went missing."

I stare down at the floor. "Yeah... David, please don't get mad at her. Chloe doesn't need any more stress right now." He slowly shakes his head, staring down at his step-daughter.

"I'm not mad," he mumbles, sighing softly. "I have to go now." He stands up and leaves quickly. I close my eyes, running a hand through my hair. At least he isn't going to be at Chloe's throat for the gun... I hope.

I continue to watch her sleep. I'm so worried that something else bad is going to happen to her, which is making me want to keep watch over her. Maybe I'm getting paranoid.

Her eyes slowly blink open. She's awake. I feel so relieved whenever she wakes up. I guess I just worry that she's not actually alive, which is so irrational. Wow, maybe I _am_ paranoid.

I smile softly at her. "Hey, Che. Feeling any better? Do you want anything?" She smiles back at me reaches for my hand. I take it, lacing our fingers together. She seems less sluggish than the other times that she's woken up.

"H-hey..." She clears her throat. "Can I have some water?" I nod, standing up and walking into the bathroom. I grab a paper cup that was sitting next to the sink and fill it up.

I return to Chloe and sit back down. She takes the cup from me and takes a drink. "Thanks, Maxy. Yeah, I feel a bit better, I guess. I'm so drugged up that it's hard to tell. But it doesn't hurt, and I can actually talk now." She hands the cup back to me.

I set it down, taking her hand again. "David came by. He said that the police are looking for Frank. And... And he knows that you took his gun."

She tries to sit up, but I gently push her back down. "No, don't worry. He's not mad, Che. Just keep taking it easy, okay?" She sighs softly, looking at the door.

"Are you absolutely sure that he isn't mad? I don't need step-ass at my throat right now. I have enough bad shit going on right now."

I nod, lacing my fingers with hers. "I'm absolutely sure. I promise. And he even said that he actually does love and care about you, and it's just hard for him to show it. He's helping the police look for Frank, too. Chloe, just please give him a chance. Please?"

She frowns. "Fine. Only because it's you asking. If it were anyone else, I would punch them in the face and tell them to fuck off." Her frown turns into a smile. "But you, you're special. I won't punch you in the face. It's too cute."

I lean down and kiss her forehead. "Thank you, Chloe. David really seemed like he was being sincere. Give him a chance." She nods. I tell her about everything that had happened between now and the junkyard, which honestly isn't much. But I leave out the part with Victoria. I know how much Chloe hates her.

Eventually, I glance at the clock. Shit... I'll have to go soon. I kiss Chloe's cheek, promising her that I'll come to see her after class tomorrow. She pouts, but reluctantly lets me go because her nurse is glaring at me.

I feel a lot better after that. Not as paranoid and worried now. I stand at the bus stop, smiling a bit. I decide that when I get back to Blackwell, I'll tell Kate what happened. She won't tell anyone, and I know that I can trust her.

I get on the bus, putting my headphones in. Just talking to Chloe for a little while made me feel so much better. I'm glad that she isn't in any pain. I remember one time when we were little, and Chloe scraped her knee. She was perfectly fine, but I was crying.

Chloe is the brave one, always has been and always will be. She's confident and bold and strong. And beautiful. But she's also such a risk taker. Sometimes I wish that she would be just a bit more cautious.

I sigh softly. All I'm doing is making myself sad again. Good job, Max. The bus stops in front of Blackwell, and I get out. I walk to the dorms and up to Kate's room.

I knock on her door. "Come in!" She calls. I open the door and step in, smiling at her. She smiles back. "Oh, hi Max. You look a lot better." I nod, sitting down next to her on the bed.

"I feel a lot better. I'm sorry for being so out of it yesterday, I just had a lot on my mind and something really really bad happened." I glance around the room, my eyes focusing on her bunny. I nicknamed him Ray Bradbunny when Kate had first let me borrow The October Country.

"Max, you can tell me anything you want. Was it something with Chloe? You two didn't break up, right?" I shake my head.

"Yes and no. It did have to do with Chloe, but we didn't break up. Um, there's this guy that Chloe owes a lot of money to, his name is Frank Bowers. And yesterday Chloe had a gun, and we were at the junkyard. Then Frank came, and he was angry because Chloe hadn't payed him off yet, and he, uh, grabbed the gun. And he shot her." I look down at my feet.

It seems so crazy now that I say it out loud. It seems like the type of thing that would only happen in a story or a game or something. Not something that would actually happen... Actually, I'm sure that stuff like this happens all the time. It's like one of those things that you hear about on the news or something, and you think that it'll never happen to you. Like a car crash.

Kate places her hand on top of one of mine. "Oh, Max, I'm so sorry. I'll keep Chloe in my prayers. Is she alright?" I nod, sighing softly. Kate is so sweet. I'm glad that I have a friend like her that I can rely on.

"Yeah, Kate. She should be okay, the bullet didn't hit anywhere vital. She's only going to be in the hospital for two weeks." I look up, smiling at her. "Thank you. It means a lot that you care so much."

"Of course, Max. You've been nothing but nice to me ever since you got here. Thank you." We chat for another few minutes before I tell her that I have to leave. We each say our goodbyes, and I walk out.

I go to my room and walk inside, leaning against the door. I feel better now that I have that off my chest, and someone else knows.

I look at the picture wall above my bed. So many of them are of Chloe and me together, all the way back from when we were little. Joyce let me have some of the pictures in her album. I smile softly, sitting down on my bed.

She's going to be okay. I don't have to worry.

* * *

 **(And that is where I am going to leave this chapter. Now, the day after chapter five went up, the review thing fixed itself. I still don't know why in the absolute hell that happened. Also, sorry if this chapter is a bit late. I've been slacking on my writing a bit. Howeverrrrrr, episode four of LiS is coming out soon! Whoo! And, this story is getting tons of support and reviews! Keep it up, guys. Reviewing is the best way to let me know whether or not you liked it. Thank you for reading. As a side note, I got the idea of 'Ray Bradbunny' from a Steam thread, but it might be in another fic. So, if you're the author of that fic, hi! Also, you guys can feel free to PM me whenever you want. If you just want to talk, you have a suggestion for this fic, or a request for a new one, go ahead! I want to talk to you guys.)**


	7. Chapter 7

**(Hey, guys. So, I hope that all of my American readers out there had a fun and safe Independence Day. Anyway, I recently became obsessed with this show called _Broadchurch._ David Tennant's accent is probably the best thing on Earth. Accents are my life. Anyway, r** **ead on and enjoy, and if you do, leave a review. Pwease.)**

* * *

October 15. The deadline of the Everyday Heroes contest. I'm sitting in Jefferson's class, idly drumming my fingers on the desk. He's lecturing us about something, which I'm not really paying attention to. My mind is still on Chloe.

She's doing better, a lot better. The doctors say that she's recovering quickly, and she might not even have to stay for the full two weeks. I've told Jefferson and the rest of my teachers what had happened, including Principal Wells. I felt like I had to.

Jefferson's voice breaks my thoughts. "Max, I know the past few days have been tough for you, but you still have to pay attention." I look up to see him standing in front of my desk. Everyone is gone. Shit, did the bell already ring?

I grab all of my stuff and shove it into my bag. "Sorry," I mumble, standing up and pulling my bag onto my shoulder. He sighs, shaking his head.

"Sorry isn't good enough, Max. Just... Pay attention tomorrow. I'm announcing the winner of the contest tomorrow." I nod. "Dismissed. I'll see you tomorrow, Max."

I walk out of his room, sighing softly. I'm just glad that Jefferson is understanding and lets me get away with zoning out. Sometimes. I head up to my dorm to drop some stuff off and water Lisa.

Kate had asked me to return her copy of The October Country, so I should do that before I go to the hospital to see Chloe. I search for the book, finally finding it under a pile of papers.

I leave my room and walk to hers. She said that she has more Bradbury books, and I really liked The October Country. Maybe I'll borrow another book from her. I knock on the door. "Come in!"

She calls. I step in, smiling at her. "Hey. I finished The October Country, so... Here." I hold the book out. She takes it, smiling back at me.

"Hi, Max. Thanks for returning the book." She sets it down on her desk, then turns back to me. "So, Max, I have to go visit my parents over the weekend. I would really appreciate it if you could take care of my bunny for me."

I walk over to the bunny's cage, rubbing between his ears. "I would love to. I really like your bunny. He's a sweetheart." I continue petting him, smiling happily. Kate laughs softly.

"I like your nickname for him. So, do you know how to take care of him?" She walks over to me, opening his cage and picking him up. "You just have to give him water and food every day, and give him some attention. It won't be too hard."

I nod, leaning against the wall. "Yeah, I can definitely do that. And I hope that you have a good time visiting your parents." I smile at her. "So, I'm going to see Chloe. I'll talk to you later."

We wave to each other, and I leave. Awesome. I'll be looking forward to doing that. I hurry down to the bus stop and board the next bus. I've been going to the hospital every day to see Chloe.

She loves the attention, and I love to give it. I like to pamper her and make her feel better. And it's not just because I feel guilty about her getting shot. But that's part of it.

I get off of the bus and head into the hospital, then the elevator so I can get to the floor that Chloe's room is on. I get off of that too, and then walk into her room.

And I walk into Chloe arguing with her nurse. I don't even know what she was arguing about. The only thing I heard was 'No, I am _hella_ right!'

"Chloe, stop arguing with your nurse. You have to listen to her, okay?" She huffs, crossing her arms. I turn to the nurse. "I'm so sorry. I'll talk to her." She nods, quickly leaving.

I sit next to Chloe's bed. "Che, why were you yelling at your nurse?" She looks down, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"She said that I can't leave here and go get breakfast somewhere until I've been released. Which is gonna be _forever_ , babe. Hospital food sucks!"

I giggle at her little predicament. "Tell you what. Tomorrow, I'll go to Two Whales and get you some breakfast. And I'll sneak it in here so you don't have to deal with the evil hospital food."

"Oh my God. You're the best girlfriend ever, babe." She grins, I roll my eyes at my silly girlfriend. She manages to be positive even when crappy stuff is happening. At least, positive for me. She still yells at mostly everyone else that comes to visit her.

Especially David. But they don't yell at each other as much as they did before. It looks like they took my advice. At least partially.

"I know I am. So, what have you been doing all day, stuck in the evil hospital with its evil, terrible food?"

She rolls her eyes, smiling. "Well... I found a channel that's been marathoning Parks and Recreations. So I've been watching that all morning. And it's awesome." She gestures to the television on the wall.

I also roll my eyes. "Alright, I'll watch your show with you. Permission to come aboard the evil hospital bed, Captain?" She nods, patting the spot next to her. I climb onto the bed, snuggling up into her side. Y'know. The side that didn't get shot.

She wraps her arm around my shoulder, kissing my forehead. And we watch the show together. I have to admit, it's pretty funny. Chloe filled me in on everything that had happened, but it was only, like, halfway through the second season so it was easy to catch up.

I like that Ron guy. And April. And Andy... And all of them. I just really like this show, and so does Chloe. So we end up watching it together for the rest of the day. It was _awesome_.

Chloe ended up falling asleep at, like, seven. Visiting times are almost over anyway, so I kiss her forehead, grab my stuff, and leave. For some reason, she's happier than ever. Except for the evil hospital food.

I read somewhere that when tragedy happens, the person it happened to either becomes super pessimistic or optimistic. And it looks like Chloe became the optimistic type. Sweet.

I head back to Blackwell. And I might be planning on watching that show all night on Netflix. Like, all night. I walk into my room, slipping my shoes off and sitting on my bed.

So, I end up watching Parks and Recs all night. And I mean all night. At one point, I ended up texting Chloe 'I love you and I like you' because Leslie and Ben say it and I think that it's really cute. She texted me back telling me to shut up.

I think that I might be a little bit obsessed with this show. It's just really damn good and funny. I eventually fall asleep at around dawn.

* * *

In the morning I head to the Two Whales to get our breakfast. When I get there I sit down at our table. After a few moments, Joyce comes over to take my order. She looks so exhausted and sad lately.

She blames herself for Chloe getting shot. But if anyone should be blamed, it would be me. I was actually there. There had to be something I could do to stop her from getting hurt. I wish that I could rewind time or something...

I smile sadly at her. "Hi, Joyce. How are you feeling?"

She pats my arm, filling up my cup with coffee. "I'm fine, hon. Don't you worry about me. Now, what's for breakfast today?" I tell her my order and also order Chloe's to go.

She walks behind the counter, telling the cook the order. The a trucker sits down at the counter, looking grumpy and tired. He waves Joyce over to him, grumbling at her.

"Coffee. Now." Joyce glares down at him. Shit, whenever Joyce is tired and upset, she gets cranky towards rude people. I brace myself for the yelling to start.

"I don't have any 'coffee now'. But I do have some coffee, please. If you can't even be polite, then get the hell out of my diner!" She snaps at him. The trucker looks shocked and angry at her rather sudden outburst.

"What the hell is wrong with you, lady?" He growls, standing up and pulling his jacket on. "If that's how you treat people, then I don't want to eat here." He leaves, slamming the door behind him. I sigh softly, looking at Joyce. She's just been so stressed out lately...

She comes to my table a few minutes later and sets my plate down, along with a box holding Chloe's food. "I'm really sorry about that, Max. I just don't have any patience for people like that right now."

"Oh, no Joyce. I completely understand, it's fine." She smiles at me, thanking me before walking back behind the counter. I eat quickly so I can leave and go see Chloe before class.

About twenty minutes later I'm at the hospital in Chloe's room. But she's asleep. So I poke her face until she wakes up.

"Maxy, what the hell?" She murmurs groggily. I giggle softly, poking her more. She whines, swatting at my hand. "If you didn't bring me breakfast I won't kiss you for a week."

I laugh again, setting the box next to her on the bed. "There you go, Che. Breakfast in bed. Eat up, baby." She immediately wakes up, grinning happily. I roll my eyes, sitting down on a chair.

"You're the best girlfriend _ever_. I'll totally kiss you a lot this week." She starts to shovel food in her mouth, talking all the while. There's my girlfriend, everyone. I'm proud of her.

"Good, you little dork. So, you know that show we watched together yesterday? Yeah, I watched it all night and I'm obsessed with it." I smile sheepishly, reaching up and playing with her hair.

"And you call me a dork." She bites into a piece of toast. "Also, I sorta figured it out. Remember that text you sent me? ...Even though I'm not supposed to have my phone. Shh..."

"I think you should probably keep your phone hidden. I like randomly texting you at all hours of the night. It's fun."

She smirks at me. "Yeah? And what things do you text me about?" I nearly choke, a blush rising on my cheeks.

"No, Chloe! That's dirty." I hide my face in my hands. My face, which is beet red. "Chloeeee, that only happened _one time_. Stop bringing it up." Once. We did that once and she refuses to stop talking about it.

"Mhm, I'm sure that you want it to happen more than once." She continues to relentlessly tease me about that _one time_ that _one thing_ happened. Sometimes I want to murder Chloe. But I still love her. I love her more than anything.

* * *

 **(I LOVE PARKS AND RECS. If you can't figure that out from the chapter. Anyway, I'm so sorry that this chapter is late. Part of the reason is because I'm lazy, part is because the dreaded writers block is setting in. It always happens, and then I end up not writing for 6 months. It's a problem. Which means that you guys SHOULD REALLY REALLY PLEASE LEAVE ME SUGGESTIONS. Please. I loosely know what I want to do, but I still _really_ need suggestions. So, leave a review WITH A SUGGESTION. Or a request for a new story, cuz I can definitely do that. Guardian out, yo.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**(I have an idea of what to do in this fanfic, and I have no plans of stopping it soon. Even if I do stop it, I'll definitely write more LiS fanfics. I absolutely love the game and the little community here on the site. Anyway, DONTNOD hasn't announced episode four yet. It's terrible. Anyway, read on and enjoy, and please leave a review.)**

* * *

I sit in Jefferson's class, paying attention for the first time in a week. He was talking about a photography technique, that was actually really interesting. And, of course, he's going to be announcing the winner of the contest. I do and don't want to win at the same time. If I do win, I would fly out to San Francisco with Jefferson on the 30th. Chloe would be out of the hospital by then, but I don't know if Joyce or David would actually let her go with me. But Chloe loves to argue with anyone who holds any sort of authority over her. But I also don't know if Chloe would even want to go with me. Jefferson might not even allow her to go with us.

I sigh softly, slowly sliding my hand through my hair. I'm just stressing myself out needlessly. I can ask Chloe about it later when I go to visit her. Maybe she will want to go, and maybe Joyce will let her go. Even if she can't come, I would only be in San Francisco for a few weeks. I'm sure that Chloe would understand if I go. I mean, it's not like I'll be leaving for five years without talking to her. We can Skype and text and stuff.

Dog, I need to stop with the hypotheticals. Maybe I should just roll with things like Chloe does. I might not even win, so I shouldn't be worried. I guess I'm still just stressed about everything.

My phone buzzes. I pull it out of my pocket, looking down at it. Why is David texting me? David has my phone number? But before I can read it, Jefferson and his eagle eyes catch me.

"Max, no phones in class!" I sigh, putting it away. The great mystery of why Chloe's step-dad is texting me will have to wait. I look down at my desk, fiddling with the camera. William's camera. My own Polaroid had been left on the windowsill in my room. When I went to water Lisa, I knocked it out the window and it shattered. Dumb, I know.

Chloe gave me her father's camera, saying that he would be pissed if no one ever used it again. It was super sweet, and I spent pretty much the rest of the week showering her in affection. And taking a ton of pictures of her, which are all on my photo wall.

The bell rings, and people start to get ready to leave until Jefferson speaks up again. "Wait. Here comes the moment of truth, the moment that you all have been waiting for. The winner of the Everyday Heroes contest is..." He trails off, to add suspense. _Total cliché._ He smiles, looking around the room. "The winner is Max Caulfield. Now, all of your entries were good, but Max's..." I stop listening after that.

 _What?_ I won? Great, now I have to deal with all of the hypotheticals. And everyone is staring at me. I look around the room. A few people look happy for me, like Kate and Daniel. And... Victoria? She doesn't look angry, at least. _This is weird._

"... Max, we'll fly out for San Francisco on the thirtieth and stay there for a week. Dismissed!" I grab my camera bag and shove all of my stuff in it, leaving the classroom as quickly as possible.

I'm happy, of course, but there are so many other things that I'm worried about right now. I'll have to go talk to Jefferson tomorrow morning. And I'll have to go to the hospital to talk to Chloe about it.

I almost forgot about the text that David had sent me. I pull my phone out of my pocket, unlocked it and started reading.

 **Unknown Number-** "Max, this is David."

 **Unknown Number-** "I need you to come down to the police station ASAP. You aren't in trouble."

I frown to myself, reading the messages a few times over. Why does David need me at the station? I should go, it seems important.

I hurry to the bus stop, catching the first bus to the police station. Once there, I get off and walk into the station. David is pacing back and forth, waiting for me.

"Hey, David. What did you need?" I ask, stopping about a foot away from the pacing man. He turns to face me, looking sorta relieved.

"Max! Thank you for coming so quick. The police found Frank a few miles out of town, on the side of the road. His RV was broken down. Some officers on patrol found him." He crosses his arms. "We want to question you a little bit and get a more accurate statement on what happened. Just to make sure that every detail is perfect. You were probably in shock that day, so this is just a follow up. We also want you to listen in when we question Frank to make sure everything he says is true."

I nod, looking down the hall where the questioning rooms are. I had been here a few times before, when Chloe got arrested for vandalizing something or being drunk. I know, like, half of the police force. "Alright. I would be glad to help."

He leads me down the hall, opening the door to one of the rooms, where an officer is waiting. I walk in and sit across from the officer. "Hello, Miss Caulfield. I want you to walk me through everything that happened that afternoon."

I pause for a moment to collect my thoughts. It already seemed like it had happened an eternity ago. 'Chloe took me to the junkyard to shoot bottles. When we got there, I went to go find some bottles for her. After a while, we have five bottles, and she shot most of them. She let me shoot one, but I don't really like guns." I shrug, looking down at the table. The officer nods, writing down what I had said.

"And then we hear Frank pull up in his loud-ass RV. He got out and started yelling at us, saying that he wanted his money. Chloe owes him a bunch of money again."

"Do you know what the debt is for, Max?" I shake my head.

"No, she hasn't told me. I only found out that she owed him again when he started talking about it. Anyway, we were sneaking around, trying to get to her truck and get the hell out of there, but he saw us and started chasing after us. He caught up to us and started yelling. And he pulled his knife on Chloe. Then I realized that I still had the gun, and I shot the ground in front of him. He tried to grab the gun from me, and I was so scared that I let him have it. Then he... You know." I murmur the last part.

Having to relive that again was kinda terrible. I'm still having those nightmares, too... I just want to forget all about that happening. The strange thing is, Chloe is the only thing that makes me forget. Even in the hospital, being with her seems so natural and calming. I honestly don't know what I would have done if that shot had turned out to be fatal. I never would have forgiven myself, that's for sure.

"Thank you, Max. They're gonna start talkin' to Frank here soon. You want anything before we start?" I shake my head, standing up from the table.

"I'm okay, thank you." I smile at the officer, standing up.

He leads me out of the room and down to the end of the hall, where Frank is being held. They have that one way glass stuff, so I can see him. He's in handcuffs, and he looks even angrier than usual.

An officer walks by, nodding at the other officer and smiling at me. He enters the room, sitting down at the table across from Frank. "Alright, Mr. Bowers. We have some questions about what happened on the afternoon of October 13th."

He glares at the officer. "You know what happened. What did you do with my dog? Where is he?" Frank cares a lot about his dog, Pompidou. Chloe told me that he used to be a dog fighter, but then he changed his tune and started worrying about the dog's safety. He rescued a ton of them and decided to keep one of them.

"Don't worry, Mr. Bowers. Your dog is perfectly fine. We put him in a kennel, where he will be taken very good care of. Now, tell me the details of that afternoon, please."

Frank grumbles, trying to cross his arms. But it's pretty hard to do that when you're handcuffed. "You know what happened. I shot Chloe because she owes me a shit-ton of money, and she passed her deadline. And I wasn't planning on shooting her, but the tiny one had a gun. Price's little bitch. What's her name?"

I frown softly. I really wish he would stop calling me Chloe's bitch. This is the second time. The officer clears his throat. "You don't need to know her name. All you need to know is that this incident has caused her and a lot of other good people a lot of stress."

"Yeah, whatever," he grumbles. The officer sighs, looking down at his papers.

"Apparently Miss Price owed you a considerable amount of money. How much?"

"Like, two thousand. And this isn't the first time that she's owed me. Little punk never pays me on time. Maybe this'll teach her to pay up." He smirks, leaning back in his seat.

"Mr. Bowers, she will not be paying you. I think that getting shot in the stomach is payment enough. Now, how did you know to find Miss Price in the junkyard?"

"She hangs out there all the time, drinking beer and shooting shit with her little girlfriend. Max or whatever. And, besides, her truck was there. You can't miss that old junker."

The officer asks a few more questions, which Frank replies to, usually with a nasty attitude.

"Where did you go after you shot Miss Price?" The officer asks, clasping his hands together. "Were you trying to get out of town so we couldn't find you?"

He nods, smirking again. "Yeah, actually. That is exactly what I was trying to do. Why the hell would I stay in town when I'm wanted for shooting a little girl? Spot on, Officer."

The officer scowls, crossing his arms and turning to me. "I think we've heard enough. There'll be a court hearing and you'll have to testify. Thanks for your help, Max. You're free to go."

"Thank you. I'm glad to help." I walk out of the police station, catching the nearest bus to the hospital. Off to go see Chloe and tell her about this weird ass day.

* * *

 **(Sup? I'm sorry if this chapter is late, but the next one will be out sooner. Thank you to everyone for your help and your suggestions. Someone said to bring Frank back in, which I was planning to do, but I spaced it like a dummy. They also suggested putting Rachel Amber in, which I originally wasn't planning on doing, but then I came up with an idea for it, so yay. Anyway, please leave a review. I fucking love reviews. You guys are so supportive.)**


	9. Chapter 9

**(For once I have no idea what to type in this AN. Usually I ramble on for fifty million forever years. But I don't know. But hey because the AN is shorter the chapter will be longer. Anyway, read on and enjoy. And leaaaaaaave reviewsssssss. Please.)**

* * *

I walk into Chloe's hospital room, pulling a chair up next to her bed. "Hey, Che. What's up?" I run my hand through my hair, watching her try to throw a ball of paper into the garbage can across the room.

She misses. "Shit! I'm thinking of joining the NBA." She grins, turning to me. "Holy shit, babe. You look exhausted. What's wrong?" She grabs my hand, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Lots of stuff, Chlo. The only thing that'll make me feel better is cuddles." Chloe opens her arms, and I climb onto the bed next to her. She wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me closer.

"Alright, Maxaroni. Tell me what ails you. I am all ears." She rubs my back softly.

"They caught Frank. David texted me and told me to go to the police station after school so they could retake my statement. And watch Frank's questioning. He didn't tell them much that they didn't already know, though." I shrug, resting my head on her shoulder. "I'm freaking exhausted, Chloe."

She kisses my forehead. "Frank is a creepy bastard. And I bet that he's gonna go to jail for a long time. For shooting me and drug possession and dealing and being a creepy bastard."

I smile softly. "Thanks, Che. Also, I won that Everyday Heroes contest." I close my eyes, pressing my face into her neck.

"Max, that's awesome! You wanted to win that hella bad. Good job, babe." She smiles, kissing my cheek. I sigh softly, cuddling closer to her.

"I'm not sure if I want to go, though. I mean, I have so many other things going on right now. You're in the hospital, I have to testify at Frank's court hearing and who knows what else is gonna pop up."

And then my phone buzzes. I fish it out of my pocket, reading the text. Apparently all of the texts that I've been getting lately are just full of bad news.

 **Mom-** "Hi Max! Your father and I are coming to Arcadia Bay on the weekend to visit you! We're going to get here tomorrow."

I groan, burying my face into her chest. "And now my parents are going to come down here. They don't know that I'm gay or we're dating or that you're in the damn hospital. My mom is, like, hella homophobic."

Chloe hugs me tighter, frowning softly. "Max, it's okay. Don't stress about this any more than you need to. We can work this stuff out together. When your parents get here you'll have to tell them about me getting shot, and we can tell them about us dating together. We have to hope for the best. And you don't have to go to San Francisco if you don't want to. Just tell Jefferson and ask him to let someone else go."

"Thanks, Chloe," I murmur, closing my eyes again. Just being around Chloe makes me feel calmer and less worried about everything. "The main reason why I don't want to go to San Francisco is because I'll be away from you. And I really don't want that. I want to be around you as much as possible. I want to always know that you're safe. I'm scared that if I go to San Francisco something bad will happen to you again and I won't be here to be with you."

I look up at her, tears starting to form in my eyes. And I feel all shaky. There goes being calm.

"Shh, Max. I'll be fine, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to get hurt, especially when you're around. You're like, my protecter. You're my angel." She runs her hands through my hair, trying to calm me down a little bit.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." I blink away the tears, pressing closer to Chloe's body. She strokes my hair softly, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. We stay like this for hours, until I finally have to go.

"Feeling better, babe?" We both sit up, Chloe rubbing my back softly. I nod, leaning into her. She wraps her arm around my shoulder, grinning at me.

I smile a little bit. "Yeah, I'm okay. Better because of you. Thank you, Che. Hey, how long is it until you get out of the hospital?"

She shrugs, glancing at the calendar on the wall. "I dunno, a few more days. The doctors said that they'll let me go early cuz I'm healing really quick. It's awesome."

"That is awesome. Dog, do you know what I just noticed? We missed that date we were supposed to go on. It was supposed to be today." I whine softly, also looking at the calendar.

"Shit, Max. I promise that the day I get out of here, we're gonna go on a hella awesome date. I'll buy you ice cream." I laugh softly, getting out of the bed.

"That's thoughtful, sweetie. Ice cream is awesome, though. It'll be a hella awesome date." I lean down, pressing my lips against hers. She kisses me back, reaching up and tangling her hand into my hair.

I place my hand on her cheek, smiling against her lips. I pull away slowly. "I better go before your nurse comes and yells at us."

She pouts. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow. With your parents."

I groan softly, pressing my forehead against hers. "Don't remind me. We'll deal with that tomorrow. I'll talk to you later." I kiss her forehead, grabbing my camera bag.

"Bye, Maxy." I walk out of her room. Maybe after kissing her a little bit more.

* * *

It's the next day, and I woke up late. I reluctantly roll out of bed and feed Ray Bradbunny. I had picked him up from Kate last night after I got back from the dorms. I rub his ears, turning around when I hear my phone buzz. I pick it up and read the message.

 **Mom** **-** "We're almost there, Max! We'll be at Blackwell in ten minutes. Looking forward to seeing my baby girl again!"

Shit. I almost forgot about that. I stayed up almost all night talking to Chloe. So right now I look like shit and I'm not even dressed.

I throw on the clothes that Chloe lent me a few days ago. I grab my bag and pull it on, heading downstairs to the parking lot. I watch the skaters for a little while, until I hear my dad's pickup pulling into the parking lot.

My parents step out of the truck. I stand up, walking towards them. I smile sorta awkwardly, looking them over. I visit them on the holidays and stuff, but I still haven't seen them very much this year. I've just been busy with school.

"Max! You've grown up so much!" My mom rushes forward, throwing her arms around me. I pat her back, pulling away from the hug.

"Mom, it's only been a few months. I missed you anyway. So, uh, how are you guys?" My dad walks up next to us, ruffling my hair and then using my head as an armrest. He's, like, an entire foot taller than me.

"Hey, baby girl. I missed you too. We're doing fine, but we want to hear about you. How's Blackwell going?"

"It's going fine. I like it here." I nod, glancing down at my shoes. "I've made a few friends."

"Is there any lucky guy that gets to date my daughter?" My dad raises one eyebrow, gently pushing my shoulder.

I blush hard, my cheeks turning red. "N-no. No guys." I shake my head, shoving my hands into my pockets. "You don't have to worry about any boys."

Thankfully, my parents brush all of the awkwardness off. "Max, your clothes look different. Did you get a new wardrobe or something?" Great, maybe not _all_ of the awkwardness is gone. What kind of question is 'Did you get a new wardrobe?'

I glance down at my shirt, shrugging. "No, it's Chloe's. Um, I was sleeping over at her house on the weekend and my clothes were dirty, so... She lent me some clothes."

"Oh, okay. How is Chloe? We haven't seen her in forever" I rub the back of my neck, looking pretty much everywhere except for my parents.

"She's good. Just, y'know, in the hospital." I shrug, fiddling with the strap of my camera bag.

"The hospital? What happened to her, Max? Is she okay?" My mom asks, looking concerned. She loves Chloe like her daughter, which makes the fact that we're dating a little bit incestuous.

Joking.

"She kinda got shot. Hey, how about we go see her? We also have some other stuff to tell you, so come on." I walk towards their truck, pretty much just wishing that the earth could open up and swallow me whole.

I get into the truck, buckling up. My parents talk quietly before both walking over and getting in. We drive in silence to the hospital.

A few minutes later we're outside of Chloe's hospital room. I had explained what had happened on the way over, leaving out all of the parts that relate to us being hella gay together.

I push the door open and walk in. "Hey, Che. My parents are here, so stop whatever embarrassing thing that you're doing."

Chloe overexaggerates a gasp. "Maxine Caulfield! I am literally just eating Jello, so shut your mouth before I throw the Jello at you."

"Are you sure that you weren't playing with said Jello? I know your Jello habits." I smile at her, walking over to her bed and sitting down in a chair. My parents walk in, looking at us.

"You two act just the same as you did five years ago." My mom smiles, also pulling a chair up and sitting down. My dad stands behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, Caulfield parents. It's been a long time. Sorry that you have to see me like this. I got shot at a really inconvenient time." Chloe shrugs, smiling at my parents.

"Hi, Chloe. Max told us what happened, and I'm really sorry. How long is it until you get out of the hospital?" My dad asks, patting her shoulder.

"Like, four more days, I think. Not super long. Oh, and Max has something that she wants to tell you guys." She looks over at me.

I sigh, standing up and walking out of the room with my parents. I lean against the wall, sliding my hand through my hair. "I have something to tell you guys. It's really important, and I would appreciate it if you don't get mad." I look at Mom. I know that she'll get mad, but they still need to know.

"Go on, Maxy. You can tell us anything." My dad smiles at me, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulder.

"So, um, you know how I was saying that you guys don't have to worry about any boys dating me?" My parents both nod. "Um, I have a reason for that." I shove my hands into my pockets, looking down at the ground.

"What's the reason?"

I look back up at them. At Mom specifically. "Don't be mad. I-I'm... I'm dating Chloe. I'm gay." I mumble, looking between the two of them. My dad nods, looking anything but mad. And then there's my mom, who looks shocked at first, then downright angry. Shit.

I stare down at the floor, trying not to panic. Dog knows that I've been doing that too much lately. My dad clears his throat. "Max, go back into Chloe's room. Your mother and I need to talk."

I shuffle into the room, sitting back down in the chair. Chloe sits up, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. "I suppose that they didn't take it so well?"

"No," I mumble, grabbing her hand for some sort of comfort. "Mom's mad. My dad's talking to her."

She sighs, kissing my forehead. "It'll be okay, Max."

* * *

 **(You know the drill. Leave reviews and all that. Guardian feels like shit due to the cold medicine that she is currently drugged up on, so Guardian out.)**


	10. Chapter 10

**(Hey, guys. I'm sorry that this chapter is late, I just needed to rest and take a little break because I was really sick. Thanks to all of you for your get well wishes. I do feel better, but I'm still a bit drowsy. So this chapter is gonna be hella late. Sorry. Anyway, read on and enjoy, and don't forget to leave reviews.)**

* * *

My father walks back into the hospital room, running his hand through his short hair. "Your mother is really upset, and needs to cool down. We're going to go back to our hotel room soon. I'm sorry that this isn't going too well, baby girl." He kisses my forehead, sighing softly.

"It's okay, Dad. I knew that she wouldn't take it too well." I lean my head against his side, also sighing. "It's not your fault. I'm just glad that you aren't mad too."

"I'm not mad, Max. I'm proud of you girls. Now, we're gonna be here for a whole week, and I was thinking that when Chloe gets out of the hospital, we could all go to dinner. With Joyce and David too, if they aren't busy. It might help with easing the tension a little." He shrugs.

"Hopefully it will. I'm sorry that I screwed everything up." I look at Chloe, who also shrugs.

"You didn't screw anything up, sweetheart. I gotta go now. I'll see you girls later." He walks out of the room, waving to us.

I slide my hand through my hair, looking back at Chloe. "I'm sorry, Che. I really didn't want it to go this way."

"It's fine, babe. It's not your fault that your mom is homophobic. Why is she, anyway?"

I shrug. "I guess she was just raised that way. My dad is perfectly fine with it, though. I never really understood why she doesn't like it." I reach up and grab her hand, lacing my fingers through hers.

"Max, we can get through anything together. Nothing's gonna bring us down. You can make the word bow." She grins, the normal, confident Chloe returning.

"As long as you're by my side, Chloe. We can do anything." I smile. Something about Chloe just makes me feel like I actually can do anything. She's always so confident and sure of whatever she does. She makes me feel like I'm not just a nerdy girl who likes to take pictures.

"That's the spirit, baby." She kisses the back of my hand. "Go get em, killer."

"Who exactly am I supposed to be getting, Che?" I raise one eyebrow, lightly punching her arm.

"Them. The haters, I dunno." She shrugs, pretending to punch the air. "I know! Frank. You're totally gonna smack his ass down in court, babe."

"You're gonna have to smack Frank down in court too. You're the victim here." I poke her side. "We'll smack him down together."

"Hell yeah! I'll be all like, 'We were running from Frank then he caught us then Max, like, held the gun up and shot the ground in front of him then Frank grabbed the gun and fucking shot me. Then Max saved my damn life! It was sweet.'"

I raise an eyebrow. "Che, I'm pretty sure that you're not allowed to curse in a courtroom. You kinda have to be respectful."

"Fuck that. Cursing is awesome." She smiles. "Anyway, I can't wait to get out of this goddamn place. The evil hospital food has made a return. The only decent food in this place is the Jello, and that's still shitty. Fucking hospital food."

"I can't wait either. Being in hospitals is so fucking depressing. I hate it here." I sigh softly, looking around the room.

"Only four more days, babe. Then I'm out of here, and we don't have to deal with the depressing, evil hospitals."

"But then we have to deal with the awkward dinner with our parents. One of whom currently hates us."

"Maxy. It's gonna be fine. Even if everything turns out terribly, we're gonna be fine. I don't care if your mom hates us, I'll never break up with you. I love you too much to ever even think about breaking up with you."

I lean over and kiss her cheek, smiling softly. "I love you too. And I don't plan on breaking up with you."

She wraps her arm around my shoulder. "Good. Hey, have you talked to Jefferson about the contest yet?"

I shake my head. "Not yet. I'm still not sure if I want to go or not. I really hope he doesn't give, like, Victoria the trip if I say no. He should give it to someone that deserves it, like Kate or someone."

"Fucking Victoria. Has she been being an ass to you or leaving you alone? Cuz if she's being an asshole to my baby, I'm gonna flip my shit on her." I roll my eyes at her.

"You're not going to fight Victoria. I swear, you would fight the sun if you could." I laugh softly. "Don't fight the sun, you'll die. Don't fight Victoria, the Vortex assholes and her rich parents will fight you. With lawsuits."

"Fine. Just cuz I'm hella broke and I can't deal with a stupid lawsuit. And cuz you don't want me to. I won't because I'm broke and I love you." She kisses the corner of my lips. "It would be so fun to punch her in the stupid, snobby little face."

I shake my head, laughing softly. "Maybe. But, y'know... Sometimes I think that she's not a bitch just because she can be, but because she's insecure about something." I shrug.

Chloe scoffs. "Dude. What does the poor little rich kid have to be insecure about? Doesn't she have all of those super fancy thousand dollar cameras and lenses and shit? She had everything she could ever need. And more than that."

"Her parents own some art gallery. I've heard stuff about how cutthroat that gallery is... She's probably been so pressured by her parents to be good that it's getting to her."

She glances down. "Maybe. Jesus, now I sorta feel like a douche for threatening to punch her."

I shrug. "That was allowed. She was being a total asshole that day. And neither of us were in the mood to take that crap."

"Shit! You know what I just remembered? We were supposed to go to that chick Dana's party tomorrow. And now we have to hella bail."

"I'll have to tell her when I go back to Blackwell later. Shit. She's gonna be so sad..." Dana was so hyped for her party, and for us to come to it. And I have to admit, it sounded like a shit-ton of fun. I would love to dress up as a pirate with Chloe again.

"I was actually kinda excited for that. Imagine us as pirates again, taking Arcadia Bay by storm." A dreamy smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

"We're still taking Arcadia by storm. I mean, we've broken into Blackwell and had a showdown with a crazy drug dealer. We still have awesome adventures, they're just more dangerous than before."

Chloe laughs. "True. I'm surprised that we're not actually dead yet. Jesus, we do so much stupid stuff. Remember that time when we snuck out and walked around the woods all night because we watched that scary movie?"

"Yeah, why did we even do that? Did we think that we were gonna find the monster or something? Wowzers, we were stupid kids." I laugh as well. "That was pretty fun, though. We just explored the woods for hours."

"You were so scared that night. You made me hold your hand the entire time. It was kinda adorable." I blush a little bit. I was terrified, even though it was my idea in the first place. Chloe was confident and brave as always.

We talk about the dumb things we did as kids until I have to go. I kiss her cheek, standing up. "I'll see you tomorrow, Che. Love you."

She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. "C'mere. Kiss me." She presses her lips against mine, one of her hands tangling into my hair. I kiss her back, smiling against her soft lips.

Chloe presses closer to me, placing her other hand on my cheek. She gently bites my lower lip, which makes me whimper softly. Chloe laughs, pulling away and pressing her forehead against mine.

"Do I really turn you on that fast, babe?" She smirks, raising one eyebrow. I blush bright red, swatting at her arm.

"Shut up, Chloe." I smile a little bit. "I really have to go now, dork."

"See ya later, hottie."

* * *

I walk into the dorm building, hearing music blasting from one of the rooms. Most likely Dana's, as usual. I walk to her room, carrying absolutely amazing news for her. Note the sarcasm.

I knock on the side of the doorframe, watching her dance on top of the bed. "Hey, Dana. I have some bad news for you."

"Shit. Come in." Dana turns the music off, stepping down off of the bed. I walk in, leaning against the wall. "What's wrong, Max?"

"Um, you know how Chloe and I told you that we could come to your party tomorrow?" She nods. "Something happened a few days ago, and we kinda can't come now."

Dana groans. "Why? Shit, is this about that thing in the news?" This kinda catches me off guard. They published a story about it?

"What thing in the news?" I ask, sitting down on her couch. She comes and sits next to me.

"There was an article in the paper about some local drug dealer shooting a girl a few days ago. Juliet told me about it." I sigh, looking down. "It just seems like the kind of trouble Chloe would get you into."

"Yeah... Chloe kinda owes him money. We were hanging out at the junkyard and he showed up. And we kinda had a gun." I pause for her reaction. Surprisingly, she doesn't seem to be shocked. "Anyway, we were sneaking around and he was looking for us. And I had the gun. He found us and pulled out his switchblade and I panicked and almost shot his foot. Then he grabbed the gun from me and shot her in the stomach. And now she's in the hospital."

Dana places her hand on my arm. "I'm sorry, Max. Tell Chloe to get well soon for me."

"I will. Thanks for understanding and not being weirded out by us hanging out in the junkyard with a gun." I smile softly.

"I've heard weirder things in the news, Max." She shrugs. "And I'll keep this to myself. I know you probably don't want a whole ton of people to know. By the way, the paper didn't release any names."

"Thank Dog. I kinda don't want people to know that I was playing with a gun with my girlfriend. Especially Principal Wells or any of the teachers here. I would probably lose my scholarship."

Dana pats my arm. "I'm here for you, Max. Whenever you want to talk, I'm here."

I smile. Dana is hella supportive all the time. "Thank you, Dana. That actually means a lot to me. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Anytime, Max. I'll talk to you later." I stand up, walking out of her room and to mine. I sit down on my bed, sighing softly. This week has been seriously strange.

* * *

 **(HOLY SHIT EPISODE 4. I can't spoil anything (yet) but it was crazy. And I was crying as soon as I started the game up. I cry so easily :/. Anyways, sorry again for the late chaper. I'm back now! Don't forget to review and all that shit that makes my heart feel good.)**


	11. Chapter 11

**(Ugh. For all of the new readers and stuff because I'm going to delete the note, my deck collapsed. So, I feel better about the whole deck thing, but then my boyfriend goes and breaks up with me. Yay. I want to write because it makes me feel better. All of your nice reviews make me feel better too. Thank you everyone for understanding, and your well wishes. Please read on and enjoy.** **)**

* * *

It's Monday, and I'm standing outside of Jefferson's classroom. I've made up my mind about the trip to San Francisco. I don't want to go. Well, I want to go and I don't want to go at the same time. Too much shit going down at the moment.

Right now I'm just trying to gather up the courage to go in there and talk to him. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm sorta intimidated by Jefferson. I don't exactly know why, I just am.

But at least I have some good news to reassure me. Yesterday Dana told me that she was pushing her party back until the 31st, Halloween. She said that she really wanted Chloe and me to come, because we deserve some fun after the shit that we've been through lately. And because Halloween is cooler and pushing it back will give her more time to get decorations.

I clear my mind of that, knocking on the door and stepping inside. Jefferson is sitting at his desk, typing away at his computer.

"Um, hi, Mr. Jefferson. I needed to talk to you about something." He looks up and smiles, standing.

"Hey there, Max. Please, come inside. What did you need?" I walk in, pushing my hands into my jacket pockets.

I glance around the room. "I want to talk about the contest." He nods, sitting on the edge of his desk. "Mr. Jefferson, I'm really sorry about this. But I have a lot of things going on right now, and I can't go to San Francisco." I stare down at the floor while I speak.

He sighs, standing up again and taking a few steps closer. Why do teachers always stand up and sit down every few minutes? "That's a shame, Max. Your photography really is amazing, but I understand that you're going through a lot. I'm sorry."

I look up at him. "I wanted to go, really. I just... Can't."

"I understand, Max. I'll announce the new winner in class later today." He smiles reassuringly, then walks back to his desk and sits down. I wave at him before walking back out into the hallway.

Well... That went smoother than I had hoped. Which is a good thing. It's one item off of my list. Now comes the dinner with my parents and the Price family. And David.

It's only two days until Chloe finally gets out of the hospital. Finally. She'll probably be ecstatic. I know how much she hates being cooped up in her room for more than a few hours. I can't even begin to imagine how torturous this must have been.

The bell rings for the first classes. I go to my English class.

* * *

And now it's time for Jefferson's class. I walk into the room, sitting down at my desk. Victoria walks in with Taylor, gossiping about Dog knows what.

I shouldn't be so catty. Taylor is actually nice when she's not with Victoria. And as for Victoria... Who knows? I sigh softly, turning my attention back to Jefferson.

He clears his throat. "Alright guys, listen up. Max here has decided to step down as the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest. So I had to pick another winner. Drum roll please!"

Everyone just sits there. Jefferson rolls his eyes. "Alright, whatever. The second winner is... Quite a shocker, Victoria Chase!" She gasps over-dramatically, standing. I roll my eyes, while Victoria's cronies clap and cheer and some brave people boo her.

"Alright, guys, settle down. It's a shame that Max didn't accept, but Victoria's picture was also amazing. I just hope that she'll be able to go, before I have to go through the rest of the class."

There's scattered laughter. Victoria walks up to the front to make her little victory speech. "Thank you _so_ much, Mr. Jefferson. I'm looking forward to going to San Francisco with you." She looks at him with total flirty eyes. Ew. "It's such an honor to..." I tune her out after that.

She probably blackmailed Jefferson. Who knows what kind of dirt she has on him? Probably all of it. I can't wait to get out of here and go to the hospital to see Chloe.

Now there's a sentence I never thought I would say. I still fucking hate hospitals.

My phone buzzes. I grab it and read the text.

 **Chloe- "max ur such a huge gay dork"**

I smile softly. Real mature, Price.

 **Max- "I know that I am. You are too, Che."**

 **Chloe- "when i get out of the hospital we should totally have hot lesbian sex"**

I blush hard. Jesus, Chloe. I glance up and pretend to pay attention for a minute so Jefferson doesn't catch me texting. Stupid no phones rule.

 **Max- "Shut up. In class, see you soon. :)"**

 **Chloe- "NO EMOJI"**

* * *

The next few days go okay, I guess. I saw Dad a few times, visited Chloe, and went out to get tea with Kate. But today Chloe is getting out of the hospital and we have awkward dinner with the parents.

Yay.

Joyce and David said that they would come, of course. Right now I'm just getting ready. I walk out of my room when I'm done, heading to the bus stop. I catch the next bus and head to the fancy restaurant that my dad told me to meet them at.

I get off of the bus, walking down the sidewalk until I get there. My parents took me here a few times when I was little, I think.

My dad's truck pulls up and my parents step out. I walk over to them, smiling kinda awkwardly at them. Dad walks over and hugs me. "Hey, baby. Your mother has cooled down quite a bit. She's not as upset." he murmurs.

I nod, hugging him back. "Thanks, Dad." I pull away and walk over to my mother. "Uh, hi Mom. How are you?"

She smiles weakly at me. "I'm okay. So, when are the Prices going to get here?"

I shrug. "Soon, I hope." A few minutes later they show up, stepping out of the car. My eyes immediately go to Chloe, who's pretty much bouncing up and down with excitement at being released.

And, holy shit, she looks hot. I mean, she's still just wearing her beanie and a punk shirt, but she's still hot. She pretty much sprints over to me, completely ignoring the doctor's order to take it easy for a while.

She wraps her arms tight around me, grinning. I hug her back, laughing softly. I missed her surprise hug attacks.

"Hey, Maxamillion. I missed being taller than you." She kisses the top of my head, hugging me tighter. I nuzzle her neck affectionately, gently kissing her.

"I missed you being taller than me too. I love you so much, Che." I kiss her neck again, honestly not caring about whoever is looking at the moment. It would honestly be much better if we were just alone in my room right now...

She slowly pulls away, grabbing my hand. I look around, blushing when I see my mom pretty much glaring at us. Oops... No, not oops. I don't care what she thinks. I love Chloe.

I turn back to Chloe. "So... Um, does it hurt?" I gently touch her side with my free hand. She shrugs, reaching up and pulling her beanie off, then putting it on me. I smile at her.

"No. I mean, not when you just touch it like that. If you gut punched me I bet it would hurt like hell." She grins her I'm Chloe Price and everything I say will turn out completely adorable no matter how stupid it is grin.

"Well, good thing that I don't plan on gut punching you any time soon. Hey, we should dye your hair again tomorrow. You're turning blonde again." Chloe runs her hand through her hair, making it even messier than usual.

"Shit, yeah. I need a haircut too. My hair is getting hella long now." It is getting longer. It's about down to her shoulders now.

I nod, smiling softly. "Yeah, you do. I like your hair shorter." While we had been talking our parents were playing catch-up.

"Hey, girls! It's time to go inside." Dad calls, standing with the others by the door. Chloe and I walk over to them.

"So, are we still going with blue and purple or do you just wanna do blue again? Or just purple?" Chloe asks, playing with her hair. "Not just purple. No, that's not Chloe-like." She shakes her head.

I laugh softly at Chloe's out loud inner-monologue. "You're such a huge dork. A huge gay dork." I poke her shoulder. She groans, punching my shoulder.

"You little gay Chloe-fucker." She grins, pushing my shoulder as we walk into the restaurant. This feels so normal and natural, teasing Chloe and having fun with her. Dog, I missed this so much.

"When did it become a thing for us to call each other gay? Also, I like 'Chloe-fucker.' It's creative."

She shrugs, grabbing my hand again and playing with my fingers. "I dunno. It's just fun. And hella true. Cuz we are so fucking gay."

"Yes, Che. I know. It's pretty damn hard to miss, I mean, with you grabbing at me all the time." I smirk, poking her shoulder again. We follow our parents to the table. And luckily we've been talking too quiet for them to hear our little conversation.

"Shut up, Maxi-pad. You know that you absolutely love it. And you know that you totally want to make out with me right now." She smirks.

I roll my eyes. We all sit down at the table. "Yes I do, Chloe. But right now we're in a crowded restaurant. With the Price-Madsen-Caulfield family circus."

"Family circus is hella right. There's us, the gay couple that consists of a shy, nerdy photographer and the punk rock blue-haired law-breaker. My parents, the diner waitress living in Oregon with a Southern accent of all things, the freaky paranoid freaky camera fetishist freaky freak. Your parents, the giant lovable teddy bear and your mom, who is a total hard-ass." My mom glances up at us, and I thank Dog that Chloe was being quiet for once.

Chloe's descriptions of the Pricenfield family makes me laugh. "Hey, you know how all of those couples have ship names or whatever?" Chloe nods. "What would we be?"

"Shit. Our names are fucking terrible for that. Cax. Mloe. Total shit names."

I laugh again. "We can use our last names too. That would be hella better. Maybe Pricefield?" It's the only thing that sounds reasonable, honestly. And I like it.

"Fucking genius, Maxy. We be Pricefield."

Dinner surprisingly passes without anyone being murdered or seriously maimed. Mom shot us some dirty glances throughout dinner, but for the most part Chloe and I were in our little bubble of Pricefield happiness. Like how it was when we had family dinners as kids. It's awesome.

We all walk out of the restaurant, the parents chatting and us, the gay children holding hands and making date plans for tomorrow. Joyce and David drive home, as do my parents. Chloe and I go to Blackwell, snuggling and kissing and just being normal us. Finally.

* * *

 **(Fin. Shit is back to normal for Pricefield. Anyway, when I'm finishing this it is 4:45 AM and I have been binge watching United States of Tara and Orange is the New Black all day. Apparently Netflix and gay people is what comforts me while I'm going through a breakup. Anyway, please leave a review and all that jazz.)**


	12. Chapter 12

**(So far no more fucked up shit has happened in my life. So good for me. Anyway, I ended up playing Episode one of LiS for like three hours today because I kept making Max walk back and forward so I could watch the back of her jacket move as she walked. I think that I'm starting to go crazy. Anyways, read on and enjoy. And please leave reviews.)**

* * *

Chloe walks into her room, her hair, which she had recently got cut shorter, now re-dyed blue with streaks of purple. She lays down to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

"So, babe, is purple a yay or nay? Cuz I'm not sure. I mean, I like it, but do you?" She runs her hands through her hair, deep in thought. I laugh softly, kissing her cheek.

"Hmm... It's nice, but I think that you should just stick with blue. I like it better." I cuddle close to her, sighing happily. It's been a few days since Chloe was released to the world, and everything is back to normal.

Chloe leans in and gently kisses me for a moment before pulling away. "How excited are you for our date later?" Chloe had come up with some sort of surprise date that I'm not supposed to know about.

"I'm very excited, as long as it doesn't have the junkyard and guns mixed in somewhere." I tease her. She rolls her eyes and kisses me again. I smile, kissing her back and tangling my hands into her hair.

She places one hand on my cheek, slowly pulling away. "Fuck, Maxy. I love kissing you. I love you." She kisses me over and over again, making me giggle.

I push her off of me. "Geeze, Che. You're gonna kill me from over-adorableness. Why have you been so cute lately? I like it." She shrugs, hugging me again. "I love you too, baby."

"I dunno. I just really like making you happy." She rubs my back softly, kissing the top of my head. "And I know that when I'm cute and nice to you it makes you happy."

I smile, rubbing my thumb over her cheek. "You're sweet. Honestly, just the simple fact that I am dating Chloe Price makes me happy. All of the cuteness is a hella good touch, though."

Chloe sits up, smiling happily. "The fact that I'm dating Maxine fucking Caulfield makes me the luckiest girl in the world. I have the best girlfriend in the entire world." I lean up and press my lips against hers. Chloe is amazing. I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend.

She pulls away after a while. "We're totally gonna get married. What are you gonna do when I propose?"

I poke her leg, rolling my eyes. "How do you know that you'll propose first? Anyway, I will say yes, kiss you a million times, and then I will probably fuck you." Chloe laughs, punching my shoulder.

"Damn, Max-a-roon. You're hardcore." Chloe laughs again. "And of course I'll propose first. Cuz I already have asked you to marry me. You said yes, but sadly there wasn't any sex after." She pretends to pout.

I grab her hand, kissing the back of it. "Ask me again, Che."

She raises one eyebrow. "Alright, you weirdo. Will you marry me?" She leans closer and presses her lips against mine, tangling her hands into my hair. I kiss her back, closing my eyes slowly. She gently bites my lower lip. I whimper softly, clutching at her shoulders.

Chloe pulls away from me, smirking. "You get turned on so easily. Now answer the question, babe."

I nod, smiling softly. "Hell yeah." I then proceed to push her back on the bed and straddle her waist, kissing her over and over again. And then it escalates from there.

* * *

I wake up a few hours later, laying on my stomach. Chloe's tracing little patterns on my back, with a dreamy little smile on her face.

"Mm... Hi." I murmur, moving closer to her. She wraps her arm around my waist, kissing my forehead sweetly.

"Hey, Maxy. You look gorgeous, as always. Actually, you look more gorgeous. You look like a motherfucking goddess, babe." I smile sleepily, cuddling up into her. "You're so pretty. I love you so much."

Apparently Chloe is extra sweet after having sex. "Thank you, sweetie. You look like a goddess too. I love you." I press my face into her neck, wrapping my arms around her. "So... Um, was that... bad or anything?"

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Shut up, Max. Even if it was fucking horrible I wouldn't want to break up with you or anything. Cuz you've been my best friend for years upon years. And No, it wasn't bad."

I nod. "It wasn't bad at all. I... I liked it." I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of tobacco and weed and of all things, vanilla. And I completely love that scent.

Chloe strokes my hair. We fall into a nice, comfortable silence. This is nice. It feels so natural to just be laying here with her, holding each other. Although, being this close to her still makes me a little bit nervous. I'm blushing a bit, and my heart is beating faster than normal, I look up at her, studying her face.

"Now whenever you want something you're going to ask me to marry you, aren't you?" Chloe laughs softly.

"Well, whenever I want sex. But I'm actually gonna propose to you someday. Like, actually propose. With a ring and shit. It'll be hella awesome." She grins, kissing the tip of my nose.

I smile softly. "It's going to be awesome." I sigh softly, sitting up. "I have to go back to Blackwell soon, baby."

Chloe groans and sits up as well. "Alright. Go get dressed and I'll take you." I get out of the bed and get dressed, waiting for Chloe.

She walks over to me, pulling her jacket on and grabbing her beanie. She smiles, pulling it onto me. "You look hella cute with my beanie on. So you can keep it for a little while." She kisses my forehead, then walks out of her room.

I follow her downstairs and to her old beater. We get in and she starts driving back to Blackwell. She grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together. I smile, looking down at our hands.

"So, how's stuff at Black-hell going? Did you talk to Jefferson about that contest? Everyday Heroes or whatever."

I groan. "Yeah, I talked to him a few days ago. He said that he understands and he's sorry and everything. And then in class he announced the new winner. And guess which kiss-ass won?"

Chloe slaps the steering wheel. "Fuckin' Chase. I still hate her. 'Oh, I'm Victoria Chase, and I'm so much better than you because I have Mark-oops, Mr. Jefferson, wrapped around my finger. So go fuck your selfie.'"

I laugh at her imitation. "That was good. This one time Samuel accidentally turned the sprinklers on too high and she got water all over her precious cashmere sweater." I roll my eyes. "She threatened her followers with death if they didn't get her a towel."

Chloe smirks. "You know, I wouldn't threaten you if you got me wet." I cough, my cheeks turning bright red. She laughs, reaching over and patting my arm. "You're still so shy. It's dorky and cute."

"Shut up, Chloe." I blush harder, punching her shoulder. "You're so dirty."

She pulls into the parking lot, looking over at me. "Yeah, I am hella dirty. But you know that you love it."

I roll my eyes again. "I have to get to class soon, Che. I'm gonna miss you."

Chloe leans over and kisses my forehead. "I love you, Maxy. See you soon."

"I love you too, Chloe." I hug her softly, connecting our lips. We kiss for a few moments before I slowly pull away. "I'll text you later."

I step out of the truck, waving to Chloe. My first class is still about thirty minutes away, so I walk around campus for a little while.

Dana and Juliet come running up to me with grins on their faces. "Um, hey guys. What's up?" I smile at them. Dana grabs my shoulders, shaking me. "Woah, Dana. Calm down." I laugh softly.

"Max Caulfield, you totally got laid!" Juliet squeals, grabbing my hands. I blush hard, looking down at the ground.

"Um. I'm being mobbed by two insane girls. And... How did you figure it out?" I lean closer to them, whispering the last part. Dana laughs at that.

"We weren't stalking you, by the way. We were just watching the best couple in all of Arcadia Bay be adorable." Dana says. Alright, off to a great start. "Anyway, that way you two were looking at each other. That kiss. Chloe totally had sex hair. By the way, I like the purple."

"Stalkers." I mumble, blushing again. "Fine. Yes, I did get laid. And it was totally awesome. No gossip, okay?" They both nod.

Juliet hugs me softly. "No gossip. Gotcha. Later you have to give us _all_ of the details." I roll my eyes. Juliet, always the journalist.

"Alright. I'll see you guys in Dana's dorm after class." They pretty much gush over Chloe and me for the next few minutes before we have to head to class. I walk with Dana, who's now talking about her upcoming party.

* * *

I walk into Dana's room, again being mobbed by the two girls. "Alright, now tell us everything." Dana demands, all three of us sitting down on her bed.

"Alright, fine. No laughing. Um, she asked me what I'm going to do when she proposes. And I said that I would say yes, kiss her a million times and then fuck her." I blush again. "She called me hardcore, which she also said the first time we kissed. And then I told her to ask me to marry her, so she did. I of course said yes and then it just... y'know."

By now my cheeks are bright red. I mean, I just had to tell my friends about my first time having sex. They're squealing about it, because apparently it's really cute.

I groan softly, pushing Dana's shoulder. "Hush. Don't make me regret telling you the amazing story of having sex." Dana and Juliet both laugh. My phone buzzes, indicating a text.

I pull my phone out of my pocket, reading the message.

 **Chloe-** "babe. date plans. meet me at my house at 6"

 **Max-** "See you soon ;)"

 **Chloe-** "ill let you have emoji 1 time"

I smile softly, pushing my phone back into my pocket. Only two more hours until I go to meet Chloe for the date. I just have to survive until then.

* * *

I step off of the bus and walk the rest of the way to Chloe's house. Once there, I knock at the door. I hear Chloe running down the steps, swearing when almost trips over her feet.

She throws the door open, grinning. "Hey, babe. I fucking missed you." She wraps her arms around me, sighing happily. I hug her back, laughing softly.

"I fucking missed you too. And I totally love you." I kiss her neck, closing my eyes slowly. Chloe slides her hand up my back, pressing closer to me. I pull away, smirking.

"I totally turn you on too." Chloe rolls her eyes, pushing my shoulder. "I do! Admit it. _I make Chloe Price horny_." I say the last part in a sing-song voice.

Chloe groans, lightly punching my arm. "Shut up, Maxi-pad. Fine, you do. Maxine Caulfield, my hella sexy girlfriend, makes me horny. Happy, you absolute dork?" I nod, grinning.

She rolls her eyes again. "Go get in my truck. It's date time, hot ass." I walk over to her death-trap and get in, waiting for Chloe. She gets in too. The engine roars to life and Chloe starts to drive off to our mystery date location.

"Hey, I might get a job." She looks over at me, smiling. "At that tattoo parlor near the beach. I have to go in tomorrow for some training."

I lean over and kiss her cheek, smiling as well. "That's so awesome, Chloe. Good job. Maybe you can give me a tattoo." I shrug. It would be kinda cool to get a tattoo. I have absolutely no idea what I would get, though.

"No shit? That would be totally awesome. I mean, if I actually get the job. I might not. But that's where I got my tattoos, and I think that the dude that owns the place likes me."

I wrap my arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, Che. You're totally gonna get that job."

"Thank you, babe. If I do then you can come to the store and we can see if there's a tattoo that you like. Or I could draw something for you." She looks over and smiles at me.

That's so sweet. I would really like that. "Yeah, that would be really nice. Thank you, sweetie." I look out the window, trying to figure out where we're going. "Hey, are we going to that park?"

There's this park that we used to go to when we were little. We would play there and have picnics sometimes. Chloe looks over at me, grinning.

"Oh my gosh. Chlo, are you taking me on a picnic?" I laugh. "That's so adorable, Che."

Chloe pulls into the park's parking lot, stopping the engine and stepping out. I also step out, as Chloe grabs a basket and a blanket from the back. She grabs my hand and leads me into the park, where little kids are playing and having fun.

She lays the blanket down and sets the basket on top of it. We both sit down next to each other. Chloe pulls some stuff out of the basket, and it's all pretty much just junk food.

I laugh. "It's so Chloe. A junk food picnic in the park. This is totally awesome. Best date ever."

We sit there, eating snacks and talking and cuddling. Life is good.

* * *

 **(Omg I actually have good news. I might go to Denver in November to go to a concert by my favorite singer. So. Fucking. Excited. Also, as a reminder in response to a guest review, Max has no powers in this. This fanfic revolves around Max and Chloe's relationship. Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter, please leave reviews. See ya later.)**


	13. Chapter 13

**(HELLA IMPORTANT. READ BOTTOM AN. Back into shit city. We probably won't be able to go to the concert. Yay. But, anyway, HOLY SHIT. The day I released Chapter 12 I got 1.17k views. You guys are hella amazing. Anyway, enjoy and read** **on.** **And leave reviews.)**

* * *

Chloe sits down on the bench near the lighthouse, which we had gone to just to get away from the house for a while. I kneel down and take a picture of her silhouette against the sun. I shake the photo and study it, smiling to myself. _New favorite, Max._

She looks over her shoulder at me, smiling. "Lemme see that picture, Maxaroni." She holds her hand out. I walk over to her and sit down, then hand her the shot. Chloe nods. "I like it. You should totally add it to your hella cool picture wall."

"Will do, Che. Hey, Dana's Halloween party is in a few days. We have to go find some pirate costumes or something." It's only three days until Halloween, and the party is the only thing that Dana is talking about.

"Shit, yeah." She nods. "We'll go to some store or something later today and find some stuff. Or we could just find some of those fake swords and beat the shit out of each other." My tall punk girl pokes my side, right where I'm ticklish.

I push her hand away _before_ she gets the amazing idea to tickle me. "We can do both. But we really can't skip on this party, Chlo. Dana will have my ass if we don't show up."

Chloe nods, slinging her arm around my shoulders. "I know. And I would be lying if I said that this party doesn't seem like hella fun." She picks up a rock and throws it down the cliff, down to the water below.

"It will be. C'mon, let's go. We'd better go before everything is gone." I stand up, grabbing Chloe's hand. She also stands, and we walk down the trail, back to the truck. She gets in and starts the engine.

Chloe drives to the nearest store, and we get out of the truck. We walk in and begin searching the aisles until we find the costumes. Chloe strolls down the fancy dress section and grabs a princess costume before holding it up for inspection. A princess costume obviously made for nine year old girls instead of nineteen year old ones.

"How absolutely hella amazing would I look in this dress, Maxy?" She poses for me, giggling happily.

I laugh, pretending to think. After a moment I slowly nod, smiling. "You look absolutely _fabulous_ , darling. Do a twirl for me." I spin my finger in a circle, trying to impersonate some kind of a fashion designer.

Che spins, also playing the part. We used to do this little game all the time as kids when our parents took us costume shopping. Chloe drops the dress back onto the shelf, laughing softly.

"We are such fucking children, Mad Max." I nod in agreement, while Chloe again starts to look through the assorted costumes. She disappears into the next aisle, doing who knows what there.

I browse the aisle, finding a pirate captain's hat and and an eyepatch that would be perfect for Captain Chloe. I drop the makeshift costume into the basket I had picked up when we walked in.

Speaking of Chloe, where is she? I know that it's only been a few minutes since she went to go look around, but... I guess that ever since she got shot I get nervous and anxious when she's not with me.

 _Yeah, Max. Because Chloe is going to get hurt again in the middle of the Walmart. Take a chill pill, Caulfield._

...But I'll go find her anyway. I might as well, so I can show her what I had found for her costume. I walk to the next aisle, where Chloe is, playing with a bunch of masks.

I walk over to her as she pulls on a dorky werewolf mask. She turns to me, holding her hands up like they're claws."Dude, look! I'm a motherfuckin' wolf." She pretends to snarl, slowly stalking towards me like she's actually a wolf hunting her prey.

I giggle, patting and rubbing her stomach once she's in front of me. "Aww, look at the adorable little puppy dog."

Chloe pulls the mask off and rolls her eyes. "I would make a hella good werewolf, Maxi-pad." She throws the mask back onto a shelf, accidentally knocking a few things over in the process.

"Sure, Che. Anyway, I found you some stuff to wear. I hand her the eyepatch and hat, which she puts on. And now she looks just like she did a few years ago when we dressed as pirates. Just with blue and purple hair.

"Hella sweet. Now we just need to find shit for you and get some awesome swords or something." She takes her pirate attire off and drops it into the basket. "Leggo, Caulflower."

I roll my eyes at her new nickname for me. "There are probably toy swords in the kid's costume section." We head there, quickly finding foam pirate cutlasses, complete with a belt with a sheath hanging from the side.

Chloe picks up two of them and tosses one to me. She pulls the belt on and slides the toy sword from its sheath, while I do the same.

"Jesus fuck, I just thought of what a hipster pirate would look like and, _Jesus, that would be terrifying."_

Chloe's random little thought makes me giggle. Dog, sometimes I wonder what else goes on in Chloe's head.

"You're so weird, Che. But that's part of what I love about you." Chloe scrunches her nose up, whacking my shoulder with her sword. I grin, slowly stalking towards her with my own foam sword at the ready.

Chloe hits my sword with her own as she backs up, our battle yet to actually begin. She grins her trademark Chloe Price shit-eating grin, hitting my sword again.

I raise my sword and smack Chloe's as she tries to swing at me again. I jab the sword at her shoulder, which she returns with a smack to the side.

I giggle as we enter full on battle. We hit the swords and each other, and it becomes a display of how damn clumsy I am. We laugh and joke around, finally stopping the war to go find a costume for me.

After a while we find this dorky bandana with skulls and crossbones decorating it. Chloe had grabbed another eyepatch for me to wear, because why not?

We go to a register and buy our costumes, then head out of the store. Chloe holds my hand, humming softly. She had picked that up from Joyce, her habit of humming a tune when she was thinking.

It's kind of adorable, actually. We get into the truck and head back to Blackwell to hang out.

Once we get to my room, Chloe lays back on my bed with her hands behind her head. I grab my guitar and sit next to my Che, softly strumming the strings.

"Baaaaabe, put that down and come snuggle me. Chloe needs some Max love." She whines and holds her arms out.

I roll my eyes, but set my guitar down and lay down next to her. Chloe grins, wrapping her arms around me. "Fuck yeah! Max cuddles are the fuckin' best."

"You're such a dork, Che." I nuzzle her neck softly. Chloe kisses the top of my head, sighing happily. "But you're my dork, and I love you."

Chloe hugs me tighter. "I love you too, Maxaroni. Hey, yesterday I heard back from that tattoo shop. The owner said that I can come in tomorrow and get some training and stuff."

I kiss her neck softly, smiling against her skin. "That's awesome, Chlo. Good job." We lay on my bed for the rest of the day, talking and kissing and holding each other.

* * *

Chloe and I head down to the gym, where Dana's party is. We both have our pirate costumes on, and Chloe is busy grumbling about having to wear the eyepatch.

"Chlo, if you don't like it then you don't have to wear it. Just take it off." I roll my eyes at the dork that is my girlfriend.

"Hell no! I have to have the perfect image of a sexy pirate badass, even though this fucking thing is hella uncomfortable."

I laugh softly, pushing the doors to the gym open. "After you, Captain Chloe."

She grins, stepping inside. "Why thank you, First Mate Max." I walk in after her, letting the door close behind us.

I look around the wide space, which is decorated in every Halloween decoration that Dana could possibly find. She even managed to find an actual DJ to play some music. People are dancing and laughing, just having a great time.

"Let's go say hey to Dana." I say. We find her talking to Kate, who's dressed up in an adorable angel costume. We walk over to them.

Dana, dressed in her cheerleader outfit, throws her arms around the both of us. "Max, Chloe! You guys came!"

Chloe gently pushes Dana off of us, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. "Of course we did. And it's Captain Chloe to you." She grins.

Kate smiles sweetly, waving at us. "Hi, guys. I like your costumes." I smile back at her.

"Thank you, Kate. I like yours too, it's really cute." Kate's smile widens at that.

"Sup, Lady Jesus?" Chloe smirks as Kate's cheeks turn red due to Chloe's nickname for her. I gently slap Chloe's arm, mouthing _'be nice'_ to her. She rolls her eyes at me, mouthing _'fine'_ back.

"Um, not much... I was just telling Dana how cool her party is." Kate gestures to the beaming cheerleader. "I'm gonna go get a drink, guys. I'll see you guys later." She smiles and waves again before walking off to go get a drink.

I turn back to Dana, leaning into Chloe's side. "Yeah, Dana. It is really sweet, for cereal. Thanks for inviting us. I can see how much work you put into making this perfect." I look around the gym again.

"Thanks, Max!" Dana waves at us as she goes off to talk to Juliet, leaving Chloe and I alone. I turn to face her, wrapping my arms around the taller girl's waist.

Chloe leans down and kisses my forehead softly. "Hey, dork. After we leave we should totally go watch movies in your room." She drapes her arms around my neck, slowly swaying to the music.

We dance together, laughing and shoving at each other when one of us messes up. Chloe leans down and kisses me, grinning happily against my lips. I kiss her back, sliding my fingers through that hair that isn't covered by her hat.

Chloe pulls away after a moment of the sweet, affectionate kiss, and we dance together for a bit longer. After about an hour, I look around to try to find Kate. She isn't at the drinks table, and I can't see her anywhere else...

"Hey, Che, have you seen Kate anywhere?" I ask. Chloe glances around, shrugging.

"I don't think so, Max. Don't worry, she probably just went to get some air or to go back to her room or something." I nod, trying to forget my worry. But something in the back of my mind keeps nagging at me... Where did she go?

We stay for about another hour before we thank Dana and go back to my room. I glance at Kate's door as we pass, my eyebrows furrowing together. _Don't worry, Max. She probably just went to bed or something. It's okay._

I put my _Blade Runner_ disk into the DVD player and lay back on my bed with Chloe. She wraps her arms around me, which makes me feel a little bit better. But throughout the movie I am distracted by worry, and didn't really pay attention.

I glance back at Chloe, who had fallen asleep about half-way through. I cuddle against her chest as I slowly slip into a light sleep, which is broken only a few hours later by a frantic pounding at the door.

Groaning softly, I disentangle myself from Chloe's arms and walk to the door, opening it to the sight of Kate Marsh, her eyes red and puffy from crying, and her angel costume torn and ripped.

* * *

 **(Cliffhanger time. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay. I'm not on top of my game, and I've been working on other things too. Also, school is starting up again soon , so updates will be delayed. Onto the second thing. If you follow my ANs, you'll know that my boyfriend broke up with me. And because of that I realized that I am hella gay. So yeah. Anyways thank you for reading please leave reviews bye.)**


	14. Chapter 14

**(Today I made Chloe and Max in The Sims. They got married. It was fucking awesome. Anyway, in the next week, aka until school starts, I'm going to write as much as possible so I can try not to get behind on my uploads. So yeah. Anyway, read on and enjoy, leave reviews, all that jazzy-jazz.)**

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I lead Kate into my room and make her sit down at my desk chair. "Do you want something? Tea or anything?" I ask, hoping to make her feel better from... Whatever had happened.

Kate shakes her head slowly, looking down at the ground. I kneel in front of her, taking her hands in mine. Kate looks up at me, sniffling softly.

"What happened to you, Kate? What's wrong?" I ask, glancing behind my shoulder at Chloe, who's sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Max? Babe, what's up?" Chloe mutters, still apparently half-asleep. "Shit, Kate? You look terrible. What the hell happened?"

The shy girl in front of me closes her eyes slowly, seeming to collect her thoughts before speaking. "I-I don't know..."

I glance at Chloe again, who looks worried. "Kate, you can tell us what's wrong. It's okay." Chloe says in a soothing voice, coming to stand behind me.

"All I remember is stepping outside from the party. I just wanted to get some fresh air, and then I felt really woozy all of a sudden... And then I thought that I heard Nathan Prescott. He said that he was going to take me to the hospital, and then I was in a room with big, bright lights... And then I woke up in front of my dorm."

 _Woah, what the fuck? Nathan Prescott? Oh my god, it sounds like he_ drugged _Kate. What happened to you, Kate? This is so creepy..._

I cough softly. "Kate... Do you think that Nathan could have drugged you with something? Did you see him around the party anywhere?" I rub the back of her hand with my thumb slowly.

Kate's eyes widen. "N-no. I didn't see him at all... Oh my God, Max, what if he _did_ drug me?" Tears start to form in her eyes.

"Maybe he didn't, Kate. Do you remember anything else that happened? Did anyone talk to you when you were getting your drink?"

Kate thinks for a moment, pulling one hand away from mine to wipe at her eyes. She nods slowly. "Yeah... I talked to Mr. Jefferson about the homework for a few minutes. But what does he have to do with Nathan?"

"Did you turn away or stop looking at him, Kate? Like, to talk to someone else or look at something?" Chloe asks.

"I-I said hi to Stella. Do you guys think that Nathan and Mr. Jefferson did something to me?" Kate looks between Chloe and I.

I shake my head, grabbing a tissue off of my desk and handing it to Kate. She takes it, wiping a few tears away.

"No, Kate. We don't know what happened. I doubt that anyone hurt you though. Maybe this is just some screwed up prank that Nathan pulled or something." I lie, trying to reassure Kate.

"Yeah. The Vortex assholes do stupid shit like this all the time. No one hurt you, Kate. He probably just did this to get a laugh." Chloe goes along with my lie, smiling reassuringly at the quiet girl.

"M-maybe. That's messed up, though. Even for Nathan Prescott." She sighs, reaching up to grab the cross necklace that she usually wears. Her eyebrows furrow as she finds nothing. "Have either of you seen my necklace...?"

I look behind my shoulder at Chloe. She shakes her head and shrugs. I turn back to Kate, rubbing her leg. "No. Chloe and I will go look for it in the hall. You stay here, okay?"

She nods, rubbing the skin where the necklace chain would be resting. I grab my phone and turn the flashlight on after glancing at the time.

 _Wowzers, it's three in the morning. If this really had been a prank, she wouldn't have shown up hours and hours after being... Taken._

Chloe and I step into the hall. She takes my hand and leans down to kiss my cheek. "It's okay, Max. Kate's fine."

I nod, smiling softly at Chloe. Thanks for being so sweet, Che. I shine the flashlight down the hall. I walk down the length of it, scouring the floor for any trace of Kate's cross.

Shit, I can't find it anywhere. What if Nathan took it as some sort of fucked-up trophy? What if Kate isn't the first girl that he's hurt...?

The part about Mr. Jefferson is still bugging me. What if he actually did have something to do with this? I mean, he had the perfect opportunity to slip something into Kate's drink. And she _did_ say that she felt woozy after going outside.

" _Max._ Baby, please don't worry. Kate is fine, okay? Tomorrow we can go look outside of the gym for her necklace. Alright? Until then, everything is fine." Chloe stops in front of me, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Don't worry. We'll keep an eye on Kate for a while. I know how much you care about her."

I nod, slowly wrapping my arms around Chloe's waist. She hugs me back, rubbing my back and kissing my forehead. "Thank you, Che. I'm lucky to have you." I press my face into her neck, taking comfort in the smell of smoke and vanilla.

Chloe pulls away slowly, kissing my forehead again. "Let's go back into your room now, baby. Okay?" I nod, grabbing her hand and lacing my fingers with hers. We walk back into my room together.

Kate looks up at us, a hopeful look on her face. It crushes my heart to have to tell poor Kate that we didn't find it.

I sigh, holding my arm with my free hand. "Kate, I'm really sorry. But we didn't find it. But tomorrow Chloe and I are going to look around outside the gym for it."

Kate's hopeful expression is replaced with one of disappointment. "Oh... It's okay, Max. It's not your fault." She smiles weakly.

 _Oh, Kate. You're so sweet, even with all of this stuff happening to you. I really want to be able to help you... We're going to find out what happened, Kate._ I make a silent promise to her.

Chloe clears her throat. "Do you want to stay in here tonight? Cuz we would be fine with that. You could take the bed." She gestures to my bed. "Me and Max can take the couch."

"I-I would like to, but... I don't want to be a burden on you two. I've already bugged you enough, I should just go back to my room." She starts to stand from the chair.

"No, Kate, you're not a burden at all. If it makes you feel better, you can definitely stay. You should try to get some sleep anyway, you look pretty tired." I grab a pillow and a blanket from my closet, creating a makeshift bed for Chloe and I.

Kate sighs softly. "Alright, if you don't mind... But you guys can sleep on the bed, I can have the couch."

Chloe sighs. "Kate, stop being so selfless. Sleep on the bed. It's impossible for you to be a burden on us, really." While Chloe is speaking I find some pajamas for Kate to wear.

"Here, Kate. Put these on and then please try to get some sleep. We can talk about this more in the morning." I hand her the clothes.

She nods, changing into the sleep clothes from her ruined angel costume. I take the costume and hang it up in my closet so it doesn't suffer any further damage.

Kate lays down on my bed, pulling the covers tight around her body. I switch the lights off, walking over to the couch where my girlfriend is already laying down.

I lay in front of her, pressing my back against her chest. Chloe wraps her arm around my waist, and gently kisses the back of my neck.

"Tomorrow we can grab dinner at Two Whales, okay? It can kinda be a date night." I nod, lacing my fingers with Chloe's.

I close my eyes, listening to Chloe's soft breathing. Chloe makes me feel calm when everything else makes me feel like I'm about to suffocate.

"Chloe?" I whisper softly, looking behind my shoulder at my blue-haired angel. She opens her eyes, smiling at me.

"Yeah, Max?" She pulls my body closer to hers.

"Thank you."

"For what, sweetie?" Chloe tucks a stray strand of my hair behind my ear.

"For everything. For being here when I need you and being a huge dork when I'm feeling sad and just for loving me. Thank you."

Chloe kisses my cheek sweetly. "Anytime, Max. Go back to bed now, you little dork."

I nod, cuddling closer into her warm body. After about half an hour, I finally slip into a light sleep.

* * *

In the morning Kate goes back to her own room, leaving Chloe and I. We go and look outside of the gymnasium for Kate's cross necklace, to no avail. Chloe sighs softly, wrapping her arm around my waist.

"I have to go to the tattoo shop soon, babe. Work and all that shit. But I am hella not missing Two Whales. Meet me there at six, okay?"

I whine softly, leaning my head against Chloe's shoulder. "You have to go already? I'm gonna miss you. A ton."

"Yeah, Maxy. After dinner we can go to my house and hang. Maybe have an actual movie night instead of watching half of a movie, falling asleep, and then being woken up by some hella crazy shit?" She smiles, poking my side.

"Okay. You're awesome, Che." I stop walking once we get to the parking lot. "I'm still gonna miss you. If you have any time than you should totally text me." I hug Chloe, resting my head on her chest.

Chloe kisses the top of my head. "I'll miss you too. And I promise that if I have even a second of free time, I'll text you. Try not to worry too much, okay? Everything is gonna be fine."

I nod, clinging onto Chloe for a few more minutes before she says that she really has to go. She gets into her truck and blows a kiss at me before starting the engine and driving away. I wave halfheartedly and start trudging back to the dorms.

The _Prescott_ dorms. Ugh, now the fact that they own Blackwell makes me double shudder. Nathan always gave me a bad feeling, but I never imagined that something like this would happen.

I walk down the hall to my room, staring at Kate's door for a minute. _I really hope that poor Kate is okay... Whatever happened to her, she_ really _didn't deserve it._ I sigh softly and walk back into my room, grabbing my guitar.

I sit on my bed and softly strum the strings, just wanting to do something distracting to take my mind off of all this stuff. After a while I get up to go take a shower. I return to my room and mess around on my laptop, finishing up a few assignments and looking af pictures of old cameras. I do things to occupy my mind and soon, it's almost time to go to Two Whales.

I walk into the hall, looking at Kate's door again. Weird, there's some sort of link written on her slate. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I pull out my phone. I type the link into Google, and it brings me to some sort of video.

Why would someone write a video link on Kate's slate? I play the video.

And I nearly drop my phone when I see what's going on. _Holy shit._

* * *

 **(Haha it's cliffhanger time again. Y'know, I say 'all that jazz' in the top AN a lot. I'm actually in my school's jazz band. It's hella awesome, tbh. I love band. Any fellow band kids among my readers? Thanks, please leave reviews and peace out.)**


	15. Chapter 15

**(Hey guys. I'm sorry that I didn't update before this, I'm not dead, I'm just sick and I have school and I was waiting for the admins to fix the view counter issue. Anyway, in my absence I met this really sweet girl named Kay in a kik chat. She asked me out a week ago now, so yay! Anyway, read on and enjoy, leave reviews, all that stuff** **. And hi Daniel, I know you read this too :D)**

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I walk into the Two Whales, walking over to the booth where Chloe is sitting. She looks up at me, grinning. I slide into the seat across from her, Chloe's bright smile fading when she sees my expression.

"Max, babe, what's wrong? Shit, did I screw something up? Max, if I made you mad then I am _so_ sorry." She reaches across the table and takes my hand.

Shaking my head, I unlock my phone and slide it across the table, with the video still on the screen. Chloe looks down at my phone, obviously confused.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Che. It's just... Watch that." I sigh and run my hand through my hair. Chloe presses play, her expression changing to anger at what she's watching.

"What the _absolute fuck?_ " Chloe says, a bit louder than necessary. Joyce shoots us a look and starts walking over to us.

"Somethin' serious goin' on, girls? Or is Chloe just complaining about the lack of food over here?" Joyce puts a hand on her hip, looking between us.

Chloe forces a smile. "Nothing, Mother Dearest. Everything is a-okay, don't worry." Joyce nods slowly, taking our order and walking back behind the counter.

Chloe slides out of her side of the booth and sits next to me. "What the fuck? Do you know who took this video? Does Kate know?"

I press the play button again, once more watching through the video. Kate looks obviously out of it as she... kisses and grabs at Nathan Prescott.

"No, I don't think so. The link to the video was written on Kate's whiteboard, outside of her door. Once I saw what the video was, I erased it. I don't want anyone watching this shit." I shove my phone into my pocket, covering my face with my hands.

I just don't understand why this happened to Kate. Why her, of all people? She's easily the sweetest person at Blackwell. She doesn't deserve to have Nathan grab her like that.

Chloe wraps her arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer into her side. "I'm sorry, baby. Maybe once we find out more about what happened we can go to the police and have them do something about this shit."

I hide my face in Chloe's shoulder, thankful that I have someone so amazing to hold me when this sort of shit happens.

"We can try. But the police here are like Nathan's personal bodyguards. You can't do anything here without the Prescott family hearing all about it." I mutter, the words coming out muffled.

Chloe runs her fingers through my hair slowly. "It's still worth a shot, Max. Who knows what else kind of creepy stuff this kid does? The police can't ignore something like this."

"What do we need to find, and where are we going to find it?" I glance up at Chloe.

Chloe sighs softly. "We need to break into his room. Maybe there's something in there that can help us. But we _have_ to make sure that he's not in his room, or even on campus. I don't want anything bad happening to you."

I hesitate slightly, thinking of all of the things that could go wrong. _I mean, maybe we should, but... It's risky._ "I'm not sure. I mean, it seems pretty dangerous. Chloe, what if he catches us in his room? He would totally kill us."

"C'mon, Max. We need to get any and all evidence possible against Asscott. Who knows what kind of shit he has hiding in his room?"

Joyce walks over to us, our plates in her hands. She sets the plates down in front of us. "Something wrong, Max? It's like you're tryin' to hide or something."

I look up at Joyce, smiling weakly. "I'm okay, Joyce. Just... Worried about school and stuff. I've got Chloe to take care of me, though."

Joyce nods. "Alright, then. You girls best not be gettin' in any trouble, alright?" We both nod. She walks off to take a trucker's order.

"Shit, babe. I think she knows that something's up. She's right though, we gotta play it safe." I sigh, picking at my food.

"I'm still not sure about this, Chloe. It's dangerous." I look up from my plate at her. "But... I don't want Nathan to hurt anyone else. I mean, if he did have a big part in this."

"So are you agreeing? If you want I can snoop in Nathan's room while you keep watch at the door."

I shake my head. "I'll go in his room. If he shows up then you could kick his ass. I would just get scared and run like hell." Chloe laughs softly, agreeing.

Neither of us eat much of our dinner. So much for this being a nice, relaxing date night. I drop a twenty dollar bill on the table to cover the cost.

We drive to Blackwell in silence. Once there, Chloe walks off to go talk to Justin. I look around the campus, trying to find someone that I can talk to. Samuel and Ms. Grant are sitting on a bench, talking. Hayden is laying in the grass with a couple of other Vortex Club girls, and there are a few Bigfoots throwing a football around. Daniel is sitting against a tree with his sketchpad.

I shrug and walk over to Daniel. "Hey, there. Um, have you seen Nathan around? It's kinda important." He looks up at me and smiles, which brightens my mood a bit. Dog, he's always so nice. I wish that I could beat the shit out of Logan for constantly picking on him.

"Oh, hi, Max. I didn't know that you were friends with Nathan. He stormed off of campus a few minutes ago, actually. I hope that helps."

I shake my head. "I'm nowhere near being his friend. I can't tell you why I need to know, but I really do. It would mean a lot to me if you helped, Daniel." He nods, smiling again.

"Alright, Max. Just be careful, whatever you're doing. I'll text you if I see him coming back. And his room number is 111." Daniel waves as I walk away to go find Chloe. I walk up to her, putting my hand on her shoulder.

She and Justin say their goodbyes and he walks off. Chloe turns to me. "Good news, bad news, something in between?"

I shrug. "Good news. Daniel told me that he stormed off of campus a few minutes ago. He also gave me Nathan's room number and said that he'll text me if he sees Nathan coming back."

She punches the air, grinning. "Sweet! Fucking DaCosta for the win." Chloe and I walk into the building. "I'll stand watch here. Go snoop around in Asscott's room. And be careful." Chloe stands by the door, looking sorta nervous.

I kiss her cheek before walking to room 111. The slate by his door reads _'THE PRESCOTTS OWN THIS TOWN.'_ Of course. This could only be Nathan's room. I grab the doorknob and slowly open the door, thanking Dog that he didn't lock it.

His room is hella dark. I pull out my phone and switch on the flashlight, shining it around his room. _This... This is_ so _creepy. Why is it so dark?_ I step into his room, walking to the desk against the wall.

I pull open a drawer, pushing some papers and stuff aside. _Nothing._ I look through the rest of the desk, finally finding something. There are a few photos in the drawer. I grab the stack, looking through them. _Oh... Poor Kate_. In the picture's she's obviously unconscious, in various... poses.

 _Fuck. Looking at these makes me angry and sad and scared. He hurt Kate, and now she's probably going through hell because she doesn't know what the hell happened to her. And what if this isn't the first time that Nathan has done some shit like this?_

I shake my head slightly. _This is no time to get mad, Max. Focus._ I shove the photos into my camera bag and continue looking. Nothing else in the desk. I pull open his nightstand drawer, where Kate's cross necklace is sitting on top of a book, with the chain broken. I clench my jaw and study the necklace, which was obviously ripped off of Kate's neck. Fucking Prescott.

 _Maybe we can get someone to fix it._ I grab the necklace and shove it into my bag as well, and continue to look around his room. The usual, creepy pictures of creepy things, anger management books on his shelves, and whale noises on his Hi-Fi. I look under his bed in case he has anything else stashed there, until my phone buzzes.

 **Daniel-** "He's coming Max! Get out of there!"

 _Shit!_ I run out of the door, slamming it shut behind me. Chloe looks up loud noise and yanks the door open, understanding the panicked look on my face. We run into the dorm building's entrance and start climbing the stairs.

Nathan pulls the door open and walks in, glancing at us. "Fucking femanazis..." He mutters before walking into the boy's dorms. We rush into the hallway of the girls dorms.

"So, Max. What'd ya find?" Chloe asks, panting slightly from our mad dash. I shake my head slightly and instead wrap my arms around her waist, pressing my face into her chest. Chloe hugs me close to her, kissing the top of my head softly.

I cry. I cry as Chloe holds me and whispers soothing words in my ear. I cry because Nathan Prescott probably hurt and did terrible things to a person that I've come to love and care about. A person who showed me around when I first got to Blackwell and who is kindhearted and caring and an all around good person.

Once I've calmed down and wiped away all of the tears, I pull the necklace and stack of photos out of my bag and show them to Chloe. While she's studying the pictures I grab my phone and shoot a thank you text to Daniel.

 **Max-** "THANK YOU! You saved us."

 **Daniel-** "No problem max. You find what you needed?"

 **Max-** "I think so"

I put my phone away, sighing softly. "Where to now? Your house or stay here?" I personally would love to get the fuck out of Black-hell at the moment. All this drama is making me sick of this school. At first I was ecstatic to go here, but now... I just want out.

"My house. C'mon, baby." She takes my hand, leading me out of the building and to her truck in the parking lot. Chloe drives to her house, switching on the radio to cover the silence.

We walk into the house, where David is sitting at the table, reading a newspaper. We walk over to him, and I set the broken necklace down in front of him. "Hi, David. Um, do you think that you could fix this for me. It's for my friend. She broke it on accident."

He looks up at us, then back down at the necklace. "Uh, yeah, sure. How did it break?"

I shrug. "I dunno. Thanks, David." I drag Chloe upstairs to her bedroom, leaving David slightly confused behind us. Chloe wraps her arms around my waist, kissing the corner of my lips gently.

"Once all of this shit calms down, we are taking a road trip or some shit. We have to get out of Arcadia Bay for a while." I nod, resting my forehead against hers. Chloe picks me up, making me yelp in surprise.

Smirking, she sits on her bed with me in her lap. I wrap my arms around her neck. "So, uh..." I mumble, blushing a bit. "How was the tattoo shop? D-do you think that you might want to have a job there or something?" Dog, Chloe doing the littlest thing can turn me into a blushing, stuttering mess.

She shrugs, kissing my neck softly. "It was pretty cool. I liked it, but I still have to go through a hella lot of training. Having a job there would actually be pretty damn fun. Maybe."

I nod slightly, her gentle kisses distracting me from the world. I only half-listen to what she's saying, feeling normal and like I don't have to worry for the first time since last night.

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 **(Hi. So, school update- Band is cool, I don't like my English teacher, math is awesome (surprise) and I'm running for student council. Whoo. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed chapter 15. Jeeze, this is getting long. Leave reviews and all that, and I will see YOU in the next chapter! Buh bye!) *totally a Markiplier reference btw***


	16. Chapter 16

**(Guess who sprained her ankle because she stepped in like a hole or something on her way out of school? Me! My foot is swollen to hell and I have to use crutches. Yay. Anyway, read on and enjoy. Miss Gimp out. Update, the tip of my fibula is also fractured.)**

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It's been a few days since I snuck into Nathan's room. David fixed Kate's necklace, but I haven't given it to her yet. I don't know if I should show her the pictures that we found either. I'm sort of afraid to see how she'll react. I don't want poor Kate to have to deal with this shit, but at the same time, not knowing what exactly happened might be even worse.

We haven't found anything else out, but we've been asking around Blackwell to see if anyone saw anything weird with Kate at the party. Everyone said that they didn't notice anything except for her acting a little bit out of it, like she was drinking or something. But Kate told me that the only thing she had to drink was some soda.

Chloe's had to deal with me randomly crying and having little breakdowns. I think that all the stress from this and school along with Chloe being shot is getting to me. I'm now too scared to sleep alone. I either make Chloe stay with me at Blackwell or I crash at her place. I just don't want either of us to be alone.

Also for the past few days Chloe's been obsessed with drawing ideas for tattoos that she would love to give to someone. She walks over to me from my desk and sets her sketch pad on my lap, open to the drawing that she's been working on lately.

"Check this out, babe. You said that it might be cool to get a tattoo, so I sorta drew something for you. It could just go on your wrist or something. I mean, if you even want it and if I all trained and shit and..." She trails off as I study the simple, yet pretty design.

I lean over and kiss her cheek. "Thank you, Che. I love it." The drawing is of a little blue butterfly, kinda like the one in my Everyday Heroes picture.

Chloe grins, throwing her arm around my shoulders. "Fuck yeah! I seriously hoped that you would like it. How cool would it be if I gave you a tattoo?"

I lean into her, smiling at how enthusiastic my girlfriend is. "It would be pretty damn cool, Chloe. How hard do you think that training is going to be?"

Chloe shrugs. "I dunno. In Oregon you don't have to have a license ***** ,so it might just take until the shop owner thinks that I have enough experience." She gently kisses my neck, pulling me closer to her.

"Mhmm..." I hum softly, nodding. I focus on the feeling of her lips on my skin, not paying attention to the world around us and the shitty things going on in that world. For now, I'm just going to be with my hella amazeballs girlfriend.

Chloe starts to softly suck at my skin, which makes shivers run up and down my spine. She smirks at the little whimper I let out, trailing her hands up and down my sides slowly. I clutch at her shoulders, wanting to close the extra distance between us. Chloe picks me up and sets me back down on her lap, her lips still connected to my skin. She slowly slides her lips along my jaw, her fingers brushing against my waist. I tangle my hands into her short hair, knocking off her beanie in the process. She smiles and pulls away for a minute to grab her beanie and pull it onto my head.

Chloe leans back in and connects our lips, her hands moving from my waist to my cheeks. The kiss is soft and long and loving, and it's perfect.

Chloe slowly pulls away and lays down, pulling me with her. She cuddles close to me and wraps her arms tight around me. We give each other loving little kisses, giggling and making dorky little jokes all the while.

"This is so weird. And amazing. I'm laying here cuddling and kissing my best friend turned girlfriend." I smile, kissing the tip of her nose.

"I know, right? Who woulda thunk that it would have turned out like this when we were kids?" She presses her cheek against the top of my head, holding me closer. "I really do hella love you, Maxaroni." She whispers,

I gently kiss her shoulder. "I hella love you too, Che."

We eventually fall asleep together, cuddled up close and holding each other tight. It's almost evening when I wake up, stretching out a bit.

Chloe's still asleep, a soft smile on her lips. She looks so happy and peaceful. _Gosh, Che, you're so pretty._ I lay my head down on her chest and listen to her heartbeat and the sound of her soft breaths.

She wakes up about ten minutes later. "Mm... Max?" She murmurs sleepily, looking down to find me. She strikes my hair softly, smiling at the sight of me. Which makes me smile as well.

"Hi, sweetheart. How'd you sleep?" I whisper, taking her other hand in mine.

She shrugs and leans down to kiss my forehead. "I was sleeping with the absolute cutest person in the entire known world, so pretty damn good. You?"

"You're sweet, Che. I slept pretty good too." I close my eyes, wanting to remember this moment forever. I want it to always be like this, just us being happy and being together, not having to worry about anything.

Chloe reaches down and pulls a joint out of her jacket, which had been discarded on the floor. "Do you mind if I blaze up?"

I roll my eyes, smiling softly. "Yes, Che. Please smoke weed in my dorm room. It's fine, as long as you open the windows."

She grins and stands up, walking over and opening both of my windows. I shiver softly at the cool November air and cuddle into Chloe's side when she sits back down. She wraps her arm around my shoulders after lighting the joint and bringing it to her lips.

I lean my head on her shoulder, watching as she blows a smoke ring. Chloe looks over at me and holds out the joint. "Wanna try, hippy?" I roll my eyes at the nickname. _Chlo_ _, you're the one smoking weed. Hippy._

Shrugging, I take the joint. Time to be adventurous. Chloe seems surprised. "Hell yeah, Max. Hardcore. For you, anyway." I roll my eyes again before bringing the joint to my lips, trying to imitate what I've seen Chloe doing countless times.

That only leaves me coughing and sputtering. Chloe smirks, taking her joint back. "C'mere. Shotgun." She says once my coughing fit has ended.

"Shotgun? Uh, what's that?" I ask, watching my girlfriend's face.

"You'll know." She smirks again, taking a long drag off of the blunt. She leans into me and gently presses her lips against mine, blowing the smoke into my mouth. _Oh. That's a lot better than actually smoking it. No coughing and shit_ and _I get to kiss Chloe._

Chloe pulls away, instructing me to blow the smoke out after a moment. I do. "Um. So that's a shotgun." I say, my cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"Yeah, nerd. That's a shotgun. And there's more where that came from. If you want, that is." I already feel a bit weird and float-y from the little bit of weed that I've already had, but I don't decline. Chloe does the shotgun thing a few more times, before the joint burns out. She throws it into the trashcan by my desk and lays back down by me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

I cuddle into her side, pressing my face into her neck. "You... You smell really nice. And I like your lips. They're soft." I mutter against her skin, closing my eyes. Chloe smiles and pats my back.

"Maxy, how high are you?" Chloe raises one eyebrow, gently poking the back of my neck. I scoff at her question.

"Whaaat? I'm not high. I'm just... Not high." I roll my eyes like that should be the most obvious thing in the world.

"Babe, you are stoned off of your mind. ...Oops. You should probably try to get some sleep now." I clutch at the back of Chloe's shirt, whining softly.

 _I don't wanna sleep. I wanna stay up with you and kiss you and stuff._ "But if I go to sleep then I'll be missing out on my Chlo-Chlo time." I pull her body closer to mine, pouting.

"I'll be right here, Maxaroni. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I will be right here, holding you when you wake up. Alright?" I nod, still pouting a little bit. "Jesus, Max. You act like a little kid when you're high."

I contemplate that for a moment before snuggling into my girlfriend's warm body. I guess that I am pretty sleepy, so I might as well take a nap. Chloe's gonna be here with me the entire time anyway. I close my eyes and listen to Chloe's heartbeat until I slip into sleep.

* * *

The next morning I wake up hungry and still drowsy. I'm curled up against Chloe's side, who's looking down at me with that grin on her face.

"Mm... Hey, Chloe." I murmur, stretching out slightly.

"Dude, I wish you would have gotten high before this. You totally act like a little kid. It's both hilarious and adorable." I groan softly, burying my face in her shoulder. _Ugh, I almost forgot about that. I guess that explains why I'm so damn hungry... That also explains why Chloe is always so hungry._

"Can we go get breakfast or something? I'm hungry like the wolf." I say, stealing Chloe's phrase.

"Hella yes. You know I'm always up for some good eats. Get dressed and shit and then we will sort your munchies out." She grins, standing up and grabbing her jacket and boots from the floor.

I walk to my closet and look around for a moment, just settling on a black-and-white plaid shirt that I had stolen from Chloe along with my jeans and hoodie. I pull my shoes on and stand up, walking out the door with Chloe. I look at Kate's slate, sighing softly.

 _Great. People are already being little assholes about what happened._ On her slate it says 'Will bang 4 jesus' in sloppy handwriting. I walk over to it and wipe the message away with my sleeve, instead leaving behind a little peace sign.

"Be nice, you little fuckers." I mutter at nothing in particular.

Chloe laughs. "I sure have been a good bad influence on you. First you're shotgunning weed from me and now you're calling people fuckers. This is gorgeous."

"Yeah, pretty soon you'll be wearing deer shirts and saying 'wowzers', Che."

She grins. "Yeah, and I'll also be dating a total sexy beast. Sweet." I roll my eyes, playfully shoving her. Chloe laughs, shoving me back. It feels nice to be teasing each other again after the past few days, which have been just full of stress.

"You know, I wish that it could always be like this. Us together, happy and making jokes and teasing each other." I sigh softly, wrapping my arm around Chloe's waist.

She slings her arm across my shoulders. "It will be soon, Max-a-roon. Pretty soon you'll graduate from this hell-hole and you'll have a hella awesome photography career, and I'll have be a hella awesome tattoo artist. And we can even get an apartment together and shit, and it'll be fucking dope."

I smile at Chloe's visions for the future. "Yeah. It's gonna be amazing, Che."

"... There's also gonna be a lot of fucking and dope."

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 **(* I don't know if this is actually true. The things I read said that you don't need a license in Oregon. Anyway, I'm sorry that this is so late. I haven't been on top of my game lately, along with the ankle thing. A few days ago I got a brace so now I can actually walk. :D. I also have a few other fanfics that I'm writing at the moment, which explains part of the reason why this is so late. As always, please leave a review and all that jazz, thanks for reading.)**


	17. Chapter 17

**(HOOOOOOOOLY CRAP POLARIZED. AND, I am not actually dead! I've just been so busy with school and band and EVERYTHING that it's been hard to find time to write. But I promise that I will start getting these chapters out quicker. Anyway, thanks for all of you who constantly support this story and leave reviews all the time. It means a lot, honestly. I'm so glad that you guys like this story. Anyway, now that we're done with that mushy shit, I feel like stage diving! (Jk. I can't stage dive.) Read on and enjoy, leave comments, and as always, thanks for reading.)**

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After Chloe and I get back from the Two Whales, we go talk to Kate about the necklace and the photos that I found. Chloe had brought it up, telling me that it would be better for Kate to know instead of wondering what had happened to her. After a while, I reluctantly agreed.

I knock softly on Kate's door. "Kate..? You in there?" We hear some shuffling around in the room before she answers.

"Yes, Max. I'm here. Come in." I open the door slowly, frowning when I see how dark and depressing it is in here. Usually it's bright and happy, with all of the blinds up. There are clothes thrown on the floor, which is so unlike Kate. She hates it when stuff isn't neat.

"Chloe's here too, Kate. Um, we have something to... Show you. Unless this is a bad time, then we can come back later." Kate is sitting at her desk, with her back to us. Her head is in her hands, and there are tissues littering the desk. I turn to leave, but Chloe glares at me and stops me.

 _She has to know,_ Chloe mouths at me. I sigh and turn back around, taking a seat on her bed. Chloe stands next to me, her hand on my shoulder. Kate turns to us, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

My body tenses, and Chloe softly squeezes my shoulder to offer some sort of comfort. I hate seeing poor Kate like this. She should be happy and carefree, not sitting in her dark, messy room alone and depressed.

Seeing her like this breaks my heart. And I highly doubt that the pictures we are about to show her will make her feel any better.

Clearing my throat slightly, I pull the photos and the now fixed necklace from my bag. David had promptly fixed it up, not asking many questions about it. Thank Dog.

Kate's face brightens when she sees the necklace. I think it's probably the first time that I've seen Kate smile since that night. She takes her necklace and quickly pulls it on, clasping it together.

Sighing softly, I then hold the stack of photographs out to her. She takes them, slight confusion replacing her earlier look of joy.

"I... I found these in Nathan's room, Kate. I'm really sorry..." I trail off, watching poor Kate's happy expression turn into the same depressed face that I've been seeing so often now.

She slowly flips through the photographs before placing them face-down on her desk. "Oh. Is this... All that you found?"

I nod slowly. "Yeah, it's all we found. Kate, do you remember anything else that happened that night?"

Kate scowls and shakes her head. "No. I had no idea what happened. Still." She rubs the side of her neck uncomfortably.

"Are you sure that someone drugged your drink, Kate?" Chloe asks, watching Kate rub her neck.

"Um, no? If someone did then I didn't see it... Why?" Kate raises one eyebrow, dropping her hand. I glance back at Chloe, seeing the concern and fear in her eyes.

"Can I just look at your neck for a second? Please." Kate nods and Chloe walks over to her, gently touching Kate's jaw and tilting her head back.

"Shit." Chloe mumbles, pulling her hands away. "God-fucking-dammit." She crosses her arms, looking utterly pissed and scared at the same time. "Kate, it looks like someone fucking stuck a needle in your neck."

"...What?"

"There are, like, little needle marks on your neck. And it could be nothing, but it could also mean that someone hardcore drugged you."

Kate's eyes start to brim with tears at this new piece of information. "Oh, God... S-should we tell the police?"

Chloe and I share a glance, and I stand and walk to them, placing my hand on Kate's shoulder. "I don't think we should go to the police just yet, Kate... They might not believe you. I mean, we don't have any solid, concrete proof of what happened yet..."

Kate's eyes narrow. "Okay, so I can just keep letting people laugh at me in the halls and call me a viral slut. And they can also keep writing nasty things on the whiteboard."

I think back to this morning, when I erased the message left on Kate's slate. Shit, did she see it before I erased it?

"Kate, I erased that. Whoever wrote that on your board is just an asshole."

"I still saw it, Max. And people are going to keep doing it. People are going to keep bullying me relentlessly, until they either get tired of it, or something bad happens to another person. And they're just going to bully that person until the cycle repeats. And it will never stop."

It would have been better if Kate was yelling. But no, her voice was calm and cold. Her words were sharp and so very true.

There is an awkward, tense silence for a few moments before Kate turns back to her desk, holding her head in her hands. "I think that you two better go."

I stare down at the ground, nodding. Chloe takes my hand and leads me out of the dark dorm room.

Once in the hallway, I stop walking and wrap my arms around Chloe. I bury my head in her chest, blinking back tears. "S'not fair."

"What isn't fair, darling?" Chloe murmurs, rubbing small circles on my back.

"This. Kate doesn't deserve whatever happened to her, or to be treated like this. She's so nice, and she doesn't deserve bad things." My voice cracks at the end, as angry tears start to slip down my face.

"I'm sorry that this is happening to your friend, Maxy. We're going to help her and find out what the fuck happened, okay?"

I nod. "We need to start looking for clues and evidence soon. Before anything else happens." Chloe pulls back slightly, placing her hands on my shoulders.

"Now all we need is a place to start looking for that shit."

"Um... We could... Dammit." I sigh, desperately thinking of ways to find clues. There's a chance someone put something in her drink, but that doesn't explain the needle marks.

After Kate's drink was drugged, she started to feel dizzy and tired, so she went outside to get some fresh air. After that she passed out and doesn't remember anything from then until she wakes up. Somewhere along the way, she made out with Prescott, which was recorded and posted on the Internet.

I quickly run through the events of the past few days in my mind. "The people we talked to said that they didn't notice anything strange, except for Kate acting a bit unlike herself. So I suppose we need to find some other lead."

"Probably the only person Asscott could have gotten drugs from is Frank, but he's been in jail for a while now after he, y'know, shot me."

"Unless Nathan managed to control himself and he didn't use them all on himself. Maybe he, like, stockpiled drugs or some shit."

Chloe nods. "Okay. We'll head to my house and start looking for clues there. You know about David's security fetish. Maybe he has some info on Frank or Nathan somewhere."

* * *

Once at Chloe's house, we go into her backyard and grab that big old board that we had painted together years ago. We bring it up to Chloe's room. Thank Dog that Joyce and David were both out. How the hell would we have explained dragging that board up the stairs? Searching around for clues in David's cave-I mean, the garage- will be easier too.

Chloe tasked me with clue hunting because 'You're hella nosy, Caulfield. Like a... Bloodhound or some shit. I don't know, just go hunt.'

I head downstairs to the garage, pushing the door open and silently thanking Dog that David hadn't locked the door before he left for work.

The garage is dark, even though it's the middle of the day. The only light is coming from the open door behind me. I search the wall for a light switch. In the process, I bump into a tool chest and knock a bottle of something over.

 _Dammit, Max. Maybe next time try not to be such a fucking klutz._ I finally find the light switch and turn the lights on, looking to where I knocked the bottle over. Shit, just my luck.

I had knocked over an open bottle of motor oil. Fuck it. I find a roll of paper towels and clean some of the oil up, but manage to get quite a bit of it on my hands too.

Whatever. Time to start the clue hunt, Sherlock Holmfield. I open the drawers and cabinets, only finding more tools and random repair shit.

It looks like there's some kind of folder or something on top of one of the cabinets, though. I could probably reach it from here, but considering the motor oil incident, it would just end in disaster.

I grab a stool that is sitting in the corner and place it in front of the cabinets. Perfect. I stand on top of the stool and reach up for the files. They very nearly slip from my fingers, but I hold onto them.

Something else flutters down too, and slips underneath a set of cabinets. I didn't get a very good look at it, but it looked like a picture. I step off of the stool and place it back in its original place.

I set the files in the counter so they don't get wrecked and kneel down in front of the cabinets. The photo is just within my reach. I grab it and slide it back out from underneath the cabinets.

The picture is of Chloe and William, probably taken soon before William died. They were outside, and William was standing on Chloe's old skateboard, looking like he was only a few seconds away from falling on his face. Chloe was laughing at her father, with that 'I told you so' look on her face.

I remember that day. I took the picture, actually. William had told Chloe that he could ride her skateboard, and she told him that he wouldn't even be able to stand on it.

Chloe had been right. I managed to snap the picture right before William fell off. I stand up and grab the files from the counter.

It seemed sorta weird that the picture was up there with David's stuff, but I don't think it was in his files. Maybe Chloe or Joyce had put it up there before it became David's creepy hiding spot.

I head back up to Chloe's room. She looks up when I open the door, smiling softly at me.

"Hey, Caulfield. What'd you find down there?" She looks at the files in my hand, obviously interested. I set the files on her bed, flipping the cover open and looking through the pages in it. Some of them have license plate numbers and lists of coordinates on them. Others are pages of information about Frank. And, for some reason, Nathan. There are also pictures of Nathan, obviously taken when David was creeping around Blackwell.

There are a few other pictures too, of Frank with some girl who looks like she's Chloe's age. The name _Rachel Amber_ is written next to the girl and underlined. I think I heard of her. She used to go to Blackwell before she just... Disappeared. I think that Chloe and I had seen her around town a few times, hanging with her Blackwell buds.

I hand the pages of information to Chloe for her to look them over. She stops at one of the pages with coordinates on it. "What the fuck, David? He's been tracking my freaking truck!" I look at the license plate number on the top. TWN PKS.

"That is creepy, Chloe." I frown softly. I was just starting to like David, too. I clear my throat. "Um, forget all that stuff for a moment. I also found a picture while I was snooping around." I hold the picture out for her to take.

She studies the picture for a few moments, pure sadness spreading across her features. "Thanks, Max. This... This means a lot to me." Chloe smiles, though the pain is still evident. "I, uh, remember that day. Dad and I wanted you to try, but you were way too terrified."

I smile at the memory. "I knew that you wouldn't have let anything happen to me. But I just thought that I was gonna end up falling on my face and looking like an idiot." Chloe laughs quietly.

"If you had fallen I would have beat up the ground for hurting my best friend."

"Then you would be hurt too and it would just be hell." I laugh again, just imagining what that would have been like.

"Thank you, Max. Just thank you for being here and being my friend and loving me and sticking by my side. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

* * *

 **(I have FINALLY gotten this chapter done! Gosh, it has been like exactly three months since the last update. I feel terrible about it, BUT, lately I have been much more motivated with my writing, and with Christmas break, I have more time. So, be looking forward to new chapters on this and new projects that will be coming soon :D I'm ultra excited. Anyway, I really hope that you enjoyed. Drop a review if you did. Maddie, signing out.)**


	18. Chapter 18

**(Hey there I'm not dead just pretty depressed. Anyway it's been like half a year since I updated and saying that makes me wanna cry a little bit but anyway I think I'm back for a while now and oops I'm crying and I got a kitten a month ago and he's sleeping on my lap and read on and enjoy I love you)**

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Chloe and I spent most of the evening searching for something, anything in David's files that could help Kate. We set the coordinate sheet for Chloe's truck aside, pinning the other two onto the board along with the rest of the pictures and files. We figured out that one of the sheets is Nathan's, thanks to one of David's stalker photos. Chloe recognized the other license plate as Frank's RV.

Chloe sits at her desk, searching online for anything about the Prescott family. She sighs, finding only business deals and shitty newspaper articles sucking up to them. Chloe scowls, slamming her laptop shut.

"Jesus Christ, Max, this is bullshit. There's nothing. Just a bunch of useless crap." She grabs a cigarette and lights up, crossing her arms angrily. "What if we can't find anything? Nothing that can actually help Kate?"

I shake my head and stand up, walking over to Chloe. She looks up at me, her eyes filled with sadness and determination. "Chloe, we will find something. We have to." I set my hand on her shoulder, rubbing it softly.

She looks down and nods. "Give up on the Prescotts for a while. I have something else for you to do. Open your laptop." She does as I say, impatiently tapping her fingers on the keyboard as she waits for the Internet to connect.

"Okay, now go to the Arcadia Bay police station website... Now go to the missing persons and see if you can find any girls around our age who like like Kate and that Rachel Amber girl." I have a feeling that she has something to do with it too.

Chloe scowls at her task. "Wow, Max, that's pleasant. I'll print out any reports that catch my eye. Keep looking at the shit on the board. Find something. Please."

I nod and sit back in front of the board, taking the files on Nathan and Frank down. I look at Frank's first. Inside was a list of criminal offenses and another that listed his possible customers. Of course, Chloe's name was on there.

There are two things that surprised me: Rachel Amber's name being on the list, and Nathan's name not being on the list. Actually, Nathan makes sense. His dad probably pays the police to keep his name clean and clear. I scoff.

I start reading Nathan's next. There's a page written in blocky, dark handwriting, like whoever wrote it was pressing down too hard. It's probably David's writing.

I read over the writing, and, to be honest, it wasn't anything I didn't already know. Mental issues, drug dependence, violent tendencies. The next page is more interesting. It looks like Nathan's actual police record, and it's long. Possssion of drugs with intent to distribute, public drunkeness, violence.

"Wowzers, Chloe, look at this." I hand her the paper and watch her skim over it. She snorts and hands it back.

"And everyone thinks that he's such a good kid. Jesus, if they actually knew who he was..." She sighs and hands me a couple of papers that she had printed off, then went back to searching the missing persons reports.

I set them aside and pin the files on Frank and Nathan back up. I turn my attention to the four reports Chloe had given me.

One of them is Rachel's. I hang it up on the board, not bothering to look at it. I had seen it all over Blackwell already, I pretty much knew exactly what it said. One of them is dated from last year, around the beginning of the year. The report said that she had run away before, but she had never been gone this long. She may have just run away to start over.

The next one is from two years back. The report said that she was kind and a good student. Maybe another victim?

They both have blonde hair and light eyes, and they're both around five feet and five inches tall. Just like Kate. Just like Rachel.

I clear my throat and look at the third report. She looks the exact same as the other two. It's date is four years back. Kind to her peers yet inclined to get in trouble... He seems to have a type. Girls who don't seem particularly opposed to trouble or running away.

I pin those up on the board, studying the pictures. They all look so similar. Bailey Matthews, Savanna Fox, and Ravyn Goodwin. Ravyn is the one from last year..

"Hey, Chlo, did you ever meet this girl? She went to Blackwell the year you did."

She glances over her shoulder at me. "Name?"

"Ravyn Goodwin."

She stays quiet for a moment, thinking. "I think I saw Ravyn around sometimes. She was nice, kinda popular. Not Vortex club or anything. She got along with everyone. Good grades, lotsa friends. Kind of a trouble-maker, though. I think she ran away a few times." She shrugs.

"Isn't that how people described Rachel? And Kate? Nice, friendly, pays attention?"

Chloe nods slowly. "Yeah. Exactly the same. Innocent. Good kids. Fuckin' creepy, Max."

By the time she's done searching the reports, there are a total of ten girls, including Kate and Rachel. They date back eleven years, and they all look like they could be sisters. They're all girls who might run away, so it doesn't draw too much suspicion. Except for Kate.

But she's not missing.

"This is sick, Chloe." I stare at the reports. Their descriptions are almost identical. Long blonde hair, light eyes, around five feet five inches tall, Blackwell students. I slowly pin them on the board before pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them.

I hear Chloe close her laptop behind me. She sits beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to her.

"Max, we will find the sick fuckers who did this and we will make sure that they can't ever hurt anyone else like this. We just need some time to sift through all this crap and find whatever clues we can find."

I nod, leaning my head against her shoulder. I slowly breathe in the familiar scent of smoke, leather, and vanilla.

"...Chlo?"

"Yeah, Max?"

"Do you think you could... Like, at least try to stop smoking? Like, I'm not saying you _have_ to... But I would like for you to try." I murmur. "S'not good for you."

Chloe stays quiet for a few minutes. I'm about to apologize for being such a jackass when she speaks up. "Yeah, Maxy. I'm gonna try. I know it's not good for me. Real bad habit, huh?" I nod. "Sorry, babe."

"Don't be sorry. I just don't want more bad shit happening to you." She nods again.

"Take my cigarettes from my desk so I'm not tempted. I'll go over all this shit again." I stand up and walk to her desk, grabbing the carton on top of it and shoving it in my pocket. Into the trash, these will go.

I rummage around the drawers to see if there are any more loose cigarettes around. I only find stack upon stack of old, forgotten schoolwork and drawings.

"Max. I think I found something. You... You gotta come here." Chloe frantically gestures me over to the board.

"What?" I watch her confused face as her eyes dart back and forth between two things on the board. "Chloe, tell me what's wrong."

She jabs her finger at multiple places on Frank's coordinates. "Okay. So he went here over and over again, a lot." She nods to herself, moving her hand to Nathan's coordinates and jabbing at multiple spots on his. "The same coordinates, the same dates, the same exact times. I'm onto something, Max. Jesus."

She jumps up and opens her laptop, stabbing at the keys as I read off the numbers.

"Stupid Internet, hurry the FUCK UP." Chloe growls at her computer, like that'll make it load faster. I'm anxious to see what pops up, too.

"Finally!" She practically yells. "Okay. It's... A middle of nowhere fuckin' barn." She scans the screen, her jaw clenched. "Owned by... Harry Aaron Prescott. Who woulda guessed?"

I stare at the information on her laptop screen. "Holy crap, Chloe. We need to go there. We need to see what's there."

She nods. "I think I know where it is. C'mon, Max." She grabs my hand and we half run, half drag each other down the stairs.

We practically sprint out of the house and into her truck. "Buckle up, Max. I'm not sure if this thing can survive how fuckin' fast I'm about to go."

Chloe tears ass out of the driveway, driving as fast as she can manage without making her truck fall apart. Within ten minutes we are at the barn. Chloe shuts off her truck and jumps out of it. I follow.

There are fresh, thick tire tracks leading away from the barn doors. Someone was just here. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

"Max! The door is locked. Can you go see if there's another way to get in?" Chloe calls to me.

"Yeah, be right back. Tell for me if you open the door somehow." I walk around the side of the barn, inspecting the walls. Nothing. There's nothing out back either. I walk around to the other side. I almost overlooked it, but there's a big piece of metal covering a gap in the side of the barn.

"Chloe! I found a way in, get your ass over here!" I can hear her jogging up to me. "Help me move this."

We each grab a side and lift, setting it down next to the gap. We both duck under the wall and head inside the dim barn. I take in the surroundings. There's a simple dirt floor, covered in hay and weeds. There's a small upstairs, and a bunch of random boxes, shelves, and workbenches on the ground floor.

"Check the boxes. I'll look around." I instruct Chloe. She nods, crouching by the nearest one. I search the nearest workbench, finding nothing but old tools. I stand on my tiptoes, looking at the shelves. I grab a scrap of paper and an old photo. I skim over the paper, putting it back on the shelf when I realize that it's just a shopping list.

The picture is strange, though. There's a man with a thick beard and a stony expression standing next to a small boy. I flip it over. Harry Aaron Prescott is written in the same fancy handwriting I saw on the shopping list. The kid isn't named. I put it back on the shelf.

I head up the rickety old stairs next. There's not much, just more hay and an ancient generator. I head back down the stairs and to Chloe.

"Found anything?" I ask, crouching next to her. Chloe shakes her head, reading over some business transaction.

"These assholes are absolutely loaded. Other than that, nothing. You?"

I shake my head, running a hand through my hair. I sigh and stand up, walking around the barn a few times, looking for anything I had missed.

That's strange. I pause for a moment, staring at the ground. I swear, it sounded like metal when I walked over it.

There's a thick pile of hay covering almost everything. Maybe something is hiding under here.

I walk back and forth a few times. Definitely metal. "Chloe, come here. I think I may have found something."

She stands and walks over to me. "Yeah?"

"Help me clear this hay away. It sounded like metal when I walked over it."

Chloe and I clear the hay from the floor. To reveal a heavy metal door in the ground. Fuck.

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 **(lololol I'm writing this before I even finish the chapter because I have so many things to say. 1. I broke up with my lady friend in like January oops. 2. Ravyn Goodwin is the name of the girl I like oops. 3. I read all the reviews I've gotten for all these chapters and I'm crying again oops. 4. Unrelated but my kitty just bit me and I'm bleeding now oops. 5. I love all of you and I swear I'm back and I'm so sorry for not updating I needed to get ahold of my shit oops. 6. Okay I'm gonna finish the chapter now oops. 7. My hands are really sweaty and I have a sunburn yet I don't leave my room oops. 8. I'm still listing things oops. 9. I realized how much I missed this and now I'm crying yet again oops. 10. I finished all of this in one day and I'm so sorry if it sucks oops. Love you, please leave reviews because oops.)**


	19. Chapter 19

**(Hello there friends it is I and my cat is walking all over my keyboard please gently fuck off I'm tryna do a thing. Anyway the one year anniversary of this story is on the 25th so if this isn't up by or before then know that I am a failure oops. So as of the day I'm writing this I've been out of school for six days and I already really want to go back I miss my friends ;-;. Anyway story time sit down little ones (lol I'm like 5 2 yall are probably bigger than me) and read on and enjoy.)**

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Chloe and I stare at the trapdoor. There's a giant padlock keeping it closed. We don't have the key or anything to break it with. Shit.

"Chloe, I'm gonna go up there to see if I find anything." I point to the platform above our heads. I walk over to the first platform. "Hey, can you come give me a boost? I can't reach." I call to Chloe.

"Yeah, will do." She appears by my side and boosts me up. "Anything useful up there, Max?" I pull myself up to the next platform, next to an old motor.

"No... Unless..." I eye the pulley system. "Chloe, you see that hook? Attach it to the door." After she does that, I tie the rope to the motor. "Watch out, Chlo. And hope to hell that this actually works."

I pull the motor over to the edge of the platform, take a deep breath, and push it over the edge. I don't look, afraid that it didn't actually work like I wanted it to.

"Jesus, Max, good job. You broke the padlock off," Chloe yells up at me. I head back down to the ground, staring at the door in the ground. "You ready?"

I nod and we lift the heavy trapdoor together. There are stairs leading down to a dimly lit hallway. With a bunker door at the end of it. Chloe and I walk to the door.

There's no padlock this time, but a digital code. I inspect the numbers. Some of them look worn, like they've been pressed over and over again. I could try... But that only happens in movies.

I punch 425 in. No. I punch in 542 next. The light on the box turns green. "Chloe! I opened it."

She walks over to me. "Shit. I kinda don't wanna see what's in there." She murmurs, slowly pulling the door open.

We walk into a room that looks like something straight out of Doomsday Preppers. There are shelves full of canned food and other survival supplies.

Theres another room. The two are separated by a thin sheet of plastic. I grab Chloe's hand, trying not to hyperventilate.

"It's okay. Don't panic. I won't let anything hurt you." Chloe murmurs, squeezing my hand. We step into the room.

What. The. Fuck.

"Oh my god, Chloe..." I whisper, staring at everything. There's a photo printer that must have cost a fortune, pictures of girls... Bound up and obviously in pain, and a big white couch in the middle of the room. With Nathan's jacket on it.

Then I see the white sheets hung up in the back of the room, with cameras and lights focused on them. I feel sick.

Chloe walks over to a desk, sifting through the papers strewn on it. "I don't think Nathan was alone. It's like these are notes written to him. Look at the writing. It's way too neat to be his."

I nod, looking at the notes. She was right. "But who's the sick fuck who's helping him?"

Chloe shrugs. I search through the notes. The handwriting looks... familiar. But I can't place it.

"Look through his computer, Chlo." I suggest, kneeling down and sliding a drawer open. There's nothing but blank paper, pens, and pencils.

In the next drawer there are rolls of duct tape and rope. "Chloe... These guys are really disturbed."

I open the next drawer. I'm confused for a second, before I realize what I'm looking at.

Trophies. Something taken from each girl. There's a blue jay feather that I recognize from Rachel Amber's missing person photo. A silver charm bracelet with a raven on it, a small golden ring. There's something for nine of the girls.

Kate's necklace must have been her... Trophy. But why was it in Nathan's room and not here?

"Look, Chloe. They took things from the girls." Chloe looks in the drawer, her expression growing darker.

"That's disgusting. I'm gonna kill them." She murmurs. I sigh and slide the drawer shut. Next, the creepy ass photography equipment.

I turn one of the lights on. It's bright, almost blinding. This must be where Kate was talking about when she said she was taken to a room with bright lights. I switch it off.

Off to the side, there's a cart. There are bottles of some sort of sedative, along with needles, perfectly organized.

"Found anything else?" Chloe asks.

I shake my head slowly. "Um, there are drugs and needles. And really bright lights. This is definitely where Kate was taken. What about you?"

Chloe sighs. "Nothing useful on the computer." I look around the room again. I feel so bad that Kate had to be here... Had to endure whatever these monsters did to her.

My eyes land on a big cupboard that I somehow didn't notice before. I walk over to it, sliding the door open. Inside are nine red binders. Each with a name on the side.

I silently take Rachel's binder out and flip it open. There are so many pictures. She looks totally out of it in most of them, but in some she looks furious. There are dates on all of the pictures. They kept Rachel for months and months, taking pictures of her and doing God knows what.

I flip to the last picture. It's dated two weeks before Kate was taken.

Rachel and Nathan are laying on the ground. There's a shallow hole dug in the ground where Rachel is. Her eyes are closed.

"Chloe. This is bad. Look." I hand her the binder. Her face goes completely blank.

"I know where that is. Look through the other ones." She says in a low tone. I nod, flipping through the other eight. Again, all of the pictures have dates in them. They were also kept for months. They all have similar photos at the back, too. The girls lying with their eyes closed in shallow graves. All the dates are almost the exact same as when they were reported missing.

But Kate wasn't kept for months. She was only here for a few hours. "Chloe, I think that Nathan's partner wasn't here when he took Kate. All of these girls were here for months. All of them had trophies and hundreds of photos here. I think Nathan tried to do this on his own and he freaked out and couldn't go through with it."

Chloe nods, clearing her throat. "Yeah. That's probably right. All those girls... They're in the junkyard. That bastard buried them all in the junkyard. Max, we have to get out of here. We have to go see if... If they're actually there, or they're alive and they were just too damn scared to tell anyone what happened."

* * *

Chloe pulls her truck into the junkyard. We get out and she leads me to where she thinks they hid Rachel. I look at her face, at her stony, determined expression. What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?

One second I was just a photography student who wanted to have fun with her girlfriend, and now I'm tracking down the dead bodies of teenage girls.

 _You're doing this for Kate. You are doing this to help your friend find out exactly who hurt her. We have to find who hurt those nine other girls, too. We have to._

We reach the spot that Chloe thinks they buried Rachel in. She gets on her knees and starts digging at the dirt with her hands. I kneel down and help her, trying not to cry or puke or both.

We've only been digging for a few minutes when my hand hits something. A blue bag made of rough canvas.

Then the smell hits me. I scramble back, holding my nose. Oh my god, it's so bad. Chloe just holds her jacket over her nose and keeps digging with her other hand.

I feel tears in my eyes. That's a body bag. That's really Rachel. Those sick fuckers tortured her for months and then buried her body in a shallow grave in a _junkyard._

What if Nathan's partner had been here? Would Kate be in a body bag hidden somewhere in the junkyard too?

I finally pull myself together enough to help Chloe. We uncover most of the body bag. Chloe's face is unreadable.

She silently stands up and walks over to another spot. She starts digging again. I sniffle and follow her. Again, it's only a few minutes before we unearth a blue canvas bag. Again and again. We uncover these bags. Nine of them.

Kate is the only one who survived. All these other innocent girls who had their whole lives in front of them died. The only reason my friend isn't dead is because Nathan lost his nerve and couldn't go through with killing her.

I don't even try to hide my tears anymore. None of them deserved this. No one deserves this.

Except for Nathan and whoever helped him.

I sit back on my heels and cover my face with my hands. "Chloe, we need to call the police. We need to tell them what we've found."

I hear a rustling. Footsteps. And the hammer of a gun being pulled back. "I don't think that would be a very good idea, Maxine."

I scramble up and towards Chloe. She pulls me close to her, her eyes wide in fear and anger.

Such a familiar voice. Such a familiar face. I trusted him. I looked up to him, I wanted to be just as good of a photographer as he is.

"Jefferson? W-what?" Chloe sputters, pulling me behind her. He sighs, a smirk on his face.

"I see that you two have managed to discover my little... Hobby. I trusted Nathan to kidnap your little friend Kate Marsh. At that party, I drugged her drink. She went outside, disorientated. Just like she had a little too much to drink. Nathan offered to take her to the hospital, but," he chuckles, "you both know that it wasn't a hospital. It's quite a shame that the idiot couldn't keep it together until I got back from San Francisco. Kate is so... Innocent and pure."

He starts pacing back and forth, his gun still in his hand. His finger still on the trigger. "You see, that's what I like. I love seeing innocence. I love capturing the moment when innocence is corrupted. But, you see, it's so hard to capture that naturally. It's much easier to just break the girl's spirits yourself."

"Oh my god. You're insane." I whisper, clutching onto Chloe's arm.

He smiles widely. "Oh, Maxine. That is exactly where you're wrong. I'm quite sane. I'm just a dedicated photographer. And you... You are exactly what I look for in these girls. Sure, you look different than what I like, but you're so innocent. You're perfect."

He gestures to Chloe. "But you, Ms. Price... You're different. There's no innocence left in you. You've been corrupted a long, long time ago. No, you are useless to me." He shakes his head, slowly raising his gun and aiming it at Chloe. I can feel tears forming in my eyes. Jefferson hesitates for a moment, a nasty smirk crossing his face. He lowers his gun.

"Maxine is the only thing keeping you from complete loneliness. However, there's one thing I've never tried. A girl and her lover together. Breaking her spirit by having her be so close to the one she loves so much, but not being able to reach out for her." He nods to himself. "Yes, that would be interesting. And I bet that it would manage to break any fragment of innocence you have left. I know how much you two depend on each other. How much you need each other."

I grip Chloe's arm harder. She's frozen, Jefferson's words shocking her. "So, girls, I give you a deal. Either I take both of you back to the bunker, or I kill one of you. It's your choice." He smiles, making sure that we can both see the gun. He's not joking.

I clear my throat, looming up at Chloe. Please don't be mad, I silently beg. "We-we'll go with you." Chloe finally looks at me, the absolute fear in her eyes breaking my heart.

"You made the right choice, Maxine."

* * *

 **(LOL I'm heartless. Sorry not sorry guys. Please don't hate me too much. I hope you like the twist I put on his lil kidnapping thing. Instead of just being like 'yeah you've been here for a couple of days imma kill you now bye' I never liked that in the game. he actually like. Keeps them. Oops anyway please don't hate me lol. So I'm uploading this on the 25th and in one whole year there have been 19 chapters, a total of 41,765 (yes I calculated that before uploading this) words, 160 reviews, 199 favorites, 266 follows, and an amazing 51,141 reads. I am so thankful to every single one of you who has taken the time to read this story. You have sincerely made my life better.)**


	20. Chapter 20

**(Hi okay I often feel like gouging my own eyes out usually when I read my own stuff and this is one of those times. lol okay that is not the quality content you come to this site for (this isn't quality I suck at writing) but I am sorry for not posting in like forever. Speech and debate takes up almost every free minute I have. And the season ends in like, March so I'm not going to have a lot of free time for a while. Whenever this reaches you lovely souls, read on and enjoy.)**

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Dark blurs. Dim voices. Voices that turn into shouting. After that I can't remember anything else.

Until my eyes open again. I blink against the harsh lights and the even harsher flashes. I try to raise my hands to shield my eyes. But I can't.

Everything looks fuzzy.

I look down. My hands are duct taped to a chair. And so are my feet. I look up, squinting while my eyes try to adjust to the light.

"Goddamnit, Maxine, stop moving so much. You're ruining all of my shots."

"W... Why?" I croak. My throat is dry. "Where's Chloe? Did you hurt her?" I strain against the tape. Everything is suddenly much clearer.

"Shut up, Jesus. She's over there." He gestures towards the couch, looking back at his camera.

I stare at her. She's tied up on the couch, unconscious and with bruises on her face.

"What did you do to her?" I jerk against the tape again.

Jefferson smacks his hand against the cart next to him. "I got tired of her big mouth. Just like I'm getting tired of yours. Now shut up and stay still unless you want me to do worse to her."

I close my eyes. "Don't hurt her. I'll do whatever you want. Just don't hurt her." Jefferson grunts. I hear his camera clicking.

"Max, your girlfriend has quite the foul mouth. Sometimes I wonder why you two are so... Happy together. You seem so incompatible, but you see something different in her. Something more pure. You've known her for most of your life, yes?" I nod hesitantly.

"You two are closer than perhaps anyone else I know. That's special, to have a bond like that." He stops taking pictures and starts pacing in front of me.

"Where's Victoria? Is she safe? Did you hurt her like you've hurt all these other girls?" He scoffs.

"I thought you hated her. No, Victoria is fine. I was planning on taking her here, but on the trip I discovered just how fucking insufferable she actually is. She really is just a stuck-up rich girl."

I hear a muffled ringing coming from Jefferson's jacket pocket. He takes his phone out of his pocket, glaring down at the screen. He answers the call.

"No. Yes. Alright. I'll be right there. See you in a minute. Thank you." He hangs up, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"I have to go." And then he's just gone. And I'm alone with my unconscious girlfriend.

 _David_

I slide into my car, checking my phone for messages. Joyce had left a voicemail asking me to pick up milk after work. There were emails from Blackwell that I ignore for the time being. Work can wait for a little bit. I had just spent hours filing paperwork because some little punk-ass kids vandalized the bathrooms. Thank God it wasn't Chloe for once.

A voicemail from Officer Berry catches my eye. I listen to it.

 _"Hey, Dave, I'm just calling to let you know that your step-daughter's truck was near that junkyard again. I don't know what she's up to this time. Thanks, I'll see you around."_

Goddamn, Chloe. She didn't vandalize the school, but who knows what she's out doing at the junkyard. I scowl, pulling my car out of the parking lot and driving back home. Joyce isn't back from the diner yet.

I shut the car off and storm into the house. "Chloe, get your ass down here right now! How many times do I have to tell you not to hang around the junkyard? It's dangerous."

I wait for a minute with no answer. "I'm coming up there, Chloe!" I storm up the stairs and pound on the door. Again, no answer.

"Dammit, Chloe." I murmur under my breath and push the door open.

No one is there. The room is a mess. There are stray papers all over the floor and that board we keep in the garden is leaning against the wall. Chloe's laptop is open. Max's camera is sitting on the bed. She never leaves without it, I've known her long enough to know that.

I walk over to the board, a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut. Something just feels... Wrong. I've had this sort of feeling before. The army trained me to listen to my instincts. Something was wrong.

There are papers tacked on the board. Missing persons reports and... My files. The coordinates of Nathan Prescott's and Frank Bowers' vehicles that I had in the garage. I'm too nervous to be upset.

My mind goes into overdrive, running through every possible thing that could have happened to them. What were my girls looking for? What did they uncover? I stand and walk to Chloe's computer. She had searched up a set of coordinates, leading to a barn owned by one of the Prescotts. What would they need there?

I look out the window. Goddamnit, Chloe's truck isn't even in the driveway. How didn't I notice that?

I call Joyce, pacing around the room. Voicemail.

"Joyce, honey, I'll be out a bit later than I thought. Some stuff came up at work. I love you."

I practically sprint down the stairs and into my car. The anxiety that I feel might just be the worst it's ever been.

I drive to the junkyard, cursing at the traffic and the speed limits. Chloe's truck is here, but it is silent. Usually she would be playing music or messing with a gun or something dangerous.

Quietly, I get out of the car. I pull my gun out of the holster on my belt. Just in case.

From what I can see, there's no one around. But there are plenty of places you can hide in the junkyard.

I try to ignore my hands shaking. I try to ignore the fact that a scumbag junkie shot my daughter right here. I try to ignore the thought that Max and Chloe are in danger. They're just messing around.

Something smells foul. Even worse than it usually does here. It smells familiar, but I can't place it.

Then I remember that smell and my entire body goes numb.

 _Max_

Everything is silent. All I can hear is my own breathing and my thoughts. And all I can think about is all of those girls that Jefferson has killed. How Chloe and I are right where all of those girls were.

She still hasn't woken up. Her shirt is torn near the collar and her jacket is laying in a heap on the floor off to the side.

My wrists and my ankles hurt where the duct tape is. I can barely breathe. It feels like there isn't enough air in here.

"Max?"

My eyes snap to Chloe. Her voice is hoarse and her eyes look hazy. But she's awake.

"Oh my God, Chloe. Are you okay? Can you move?"

She doesn't react for a moment, but the haze over her eyes clears and she tries to sit up. Almost immediately she throws herself back down with a cry of pain.

"Oh God, Max." Chloe groans, her hands clutching her side. "My ribs."

I struggle against the duct tape, hoping that there's a weak spot somewhere that'll break. Deep down I know that won't happen.

"Max, I'm scared." Chloe whispers. I close my eyes so I don't have to see the tears in Chloe's eyes.

"I am too, Chlo. I love you, okay?"

"I love you too." Her voice breaks, and so does my heart. Jefferson had a point in his little speech back at the junkyard. The feeling of helplessness is just the right was to break someone's spirit.

We hear the heavy clank of the door, signaling Jefferson's return. He walks in, looking agitated and annoyed.

"Ms. Price, you're awake. Delightful." That sick, sadistic smile returns to his face. "How are you feeling? A bit sore, I would guess."

"Fuck you, Jefferson." Her voice is low and quiet and full of rage.

He chuckles, throwing his jacket onto the desk. "Now, that's not the right way to speak to someone who could kill you at any moment, is it?"

Jefferson steps closer to us, his head tilted to the side. Chloe spits at his feet. "Fuck you."

"Chloe. Please calm down before he hurts you." I say. She looks over at me, her jaw clenched.

"It would be a wise decision to listen to your girlfriend, Chloe." He now stands in front of the couch, blocking my view of Chloe. "For good measure, however..."

He closes his hand into a fist. Next, a sickening crunch as he hits Chloe in the face. Then a cry of pain.

As he steps away, I can see blood pouring from Chloe's nose. "Maxine, I know you have a particular fondness for Polaroid cameras. I thought you would appreciate this." He leans down and pulls an old Polaroid from a bag.

I stare ahead vacantly as he takes pictures. I don't try to do anything about the tears streaming down my face.

After some amount of time he decides that's enough for this photo session. He takes a syringe from the cart and fills it with some liquid. Probably a sedative.

First he goes to Chloe and manages to sedate her, despite her thrashing and protests. I don't even struggle. It would have been useless. Everything is useless.

* * *

When I wake back up, Jefferson is gone again. There's a half empty bottle of whisky laying on the desk, though. It's reassuring to know that our demented captor is probably drunk.

Chloe is still unconscious, just like last time. There's dried blood running down her face and into her shirt. I wouldn't be surprised if Jefferson broke her nose.

The door clanks open again. Jefferson probably knew exactly when I would be waking up.

He walks in, stumbling slightly. Drunk, just as I thought.

"No wise words this time, Price?" He slurs, slamming the heavy door behind him, obviously unaware that she's not awake. Jefferson's hair is disheveled and his shirt is rumpled.

She doesn't respond. "Good." He murmurs, picking the bottle of whisky up and taking a swig. "I brought some of my photos, Maxine. I think you'll like seeing them."

He stumbles over, taking a small stack of pictures out of his jacket pocket. He kneels beside me and slowly leafs through each photo.

I feel like throwing up, but my stomach is empty. He grins when we get to the last picture, obviously proud of his work.

"I can't wait for missing persons posters start to pop up for you two. Everyone's just going to think that you're runaways, like all those other girls." He tosses the stack of photos behind him, continuing his maniacal little monologue. "I'm having fun with you two. Maxine, you are such a good subject for my project. I'm going to show the world my true work one day. You'll be famous."

He whispers the last part, his face showing desperation. "I'm sick of being known for those mediocre photographs of mine. This is true artwork." He stumbles back to the desk to drink again.

"This isn't art, this is sick. You disgust me, and you'll sure as hell disgust everyone. If you think this will make you famous, you really are a crazy bastard."

"Such strong words, Maxine! Maybe Chloe is a bigger influence on you than I thought." He sets the whisky down, walking slowly towards me. "You might be partially correct, Max. I already have so many good pictures." He picks up a new syringe, filling it with the sedative. "Maybe we could take just a few more pictures, then I can get rid of you two. Move onto bigger and better things."

I try not to let my voice shake. "I'm right. You're absolutely, one hundred percent, fucking insane." His face contorts in rage.

He slaps me across the face, whipping my head to the side. I ignore the pain as best as I can, gritting my teeth. "God, you and your big mouth. I have all the power here. There's enough drugs in that syringe to stop your heart in minutes."

I watch silently as he sets up his camera equipment. He's shaking his head and muttering to himself.

He snaps a few quick photos and takes the equipment apart. He's humming a familiar tune as he grabs the syringe and holds it to my neck.

"Not much longer now, Max. I want to thank you for being such a good subject. You don't have to worry, I'll kill your little girlfriend as well."

The door groans as it's flung open. Jefferson stumbles back slightly, obviously startled.

David and three other officers, all in full gear and all holding guns, rush in. They all yell, telling him to get down on the ground.

I close my eyes as I feel the needle in my neck. The last thing I hear before everything goes black is gunshots.

* * *

 **(Okay so I actually cried while writing this granted it is midnight and I'm sick (because when am I not) and I'm tired so I may have cried because of all of those anyway. This story will have 1 ish chapters left and then there will be a sequel (and I swear it won't take me another six months to write chapter 21) so anyway I thank you all sincerely for reading. Thank you. PS- if you ever want to talk or have any questions about this story or any others, please feel free to DM me.)**


	21. Chapter 21

**(Two years ago today I published the first chapter of this story, which was meant to be just a fluffy little thing. Well, here we are, at the final chapter. I kinda screwed up the whole supper-fluffy happy thing, but, hey, can you blame me? I've grown so much while writing this, and I am** **intensely grateful to everyone who has read this. It's been quite the journey. By the way, sorry that it took like seven months to update this. I hope it meets your expectations. There may be a sequel, but I am working on other projects. Be sure to watch my profile for news about that. If you want, go check out my original works on fictionpress at memesdreamsandbeans. And for one last time, read on and enjoy.)**

I wake to harsh lights, the smell of antiseptic and insistent beeping. Through the fog, I realize that I must be in a hospital. Which means that I'm alive, at the very least.

It takes a while for everything to come into focus. Jefferson kidnapped Chloe and I and held us in his bunker. When David and other officers came for us, he tried to kill me. The last thing I remember hearing before I passed out was guns shooting. So his attempt to kill me must have failed. But what had happened to him?

I'm startled by a voice coming from the doorway. "Ah, Ms. Caulfield. You're awake." I look up to see a doctor standing in the doorway. She walks into the room and sits in a chair next to the hospital bed. "I'm glad to see that. How are you feeling?"

"Like a psychopath tried to kill me. And thirsty." I croak out. The doctor smiles, taking a cup from the bedside table.

"That is understandable. I'll be right back with some water for you, Maxine."

"Max." The doctor nods, walking out of the room. She returns a minute later and hands me the cup, now full. I drink most of it, setting it aside after. "Thank you."

"Of course, Max. I'm Dr. Bryant. Now, how are you actually feeling today?"

"Tired. Foggy. What... happened?"

Dr. Bryant sighs, hesitating for a moment. "You were drugged with a potent tranquilizer and in an unconscious state. In all honestly, you are very lucky that Mr. Madsen and the other officers got there when they did."

"What about Chloe?" I say, dragging myself to a sitting position. Everything is still somewhat foggy and it takes a lot of effort.

"Your friend is alright. A few of her ribs were cracked and her shoulder was dislocated, but she will be fine." The doctor pauses for a moment, laughing quietly, before continuing. "Chloe is quite outspoken."

"What did she say to you?" I ask, smiling. I can only hope it wasn't too bad.

Dr. Bryant shakes her head slightly. "Well, she said, and I quote 'if I don't get out of this goddamn hospital bed sometime soon I won't be the only one with broken ribs.'"

"Ugh, I'm sorry about her. She doesn't have a filter."

"It's quite alright, Max. Actually, she's been asking about you quite often. I can tell that she cares a great deal about you."

"I love her." I murmur, looking down.

"I can tell, Max. Now, physically, you might be a bit weak for a while. I would also like for both you and Chloe to go to a councilor once a week for therapy. Going through something like this can have very serious mental effects, and we'd like to avoid that as much as possible. Chloe may have some issues with pain for a while, but in time it will fade and she'll be right as rain."

I nod slowly. "How did Chloe take that?"

"Extremely well, actually. She agreed as soon as I mentioned it."

"That's good." I say. The doctor agrees. We both look up as we hear a knock at the door. Standing there, we see Joyce and David.

"Ah, hello. I assume you're here to see Max?" Dr. Bryant stands up, an easy smile on her face. "Come on in. I'll give you some time alone." With that, the doctor leaves again.

Joyce rushes in, straight to my bedside. David hangs back at the door, his expression soft yet unsure. I send him a small smile to encourage him to come in the room.

He does, taking a place at the other side of my bed. Joyce takes one of my hands softly, her eyes full of worry.

"Sweetheart, how are you feeling? Oh, you've been through so much. I can't believe that monster hurt my little girls."

"Joyce, I'm alright. I swear. Just a bit... Foggy right now. I'll be okay. David saved me." I look at him as I say that, watching him look away from me.

"Hon, could I have a moment alone with Max?" David asks, looking up to meet his wife's eyes. She nods, a strange look settling over her face as if whatever David wants to talk about is unpleasant.

She exits the room, leaving David and me alone together. "Max, I have to tell you something." He pauses, shaking his head. He drags a chair from the corner of the room to my bedside, sitting. "Now, you passed out pretty quick back there. I don't know how much you remember, but..."

I take the pause as an opportunity to speak up. "The last thing I remember hearing before blacking out was gunshots." I try to suppress the shiver that runs through my body at the memory of the booming shots.

"Right. Mark Jefferson was shot fatally." David paused to read my reaction. "He's dead."

I don't know if I'm supposed to feel something at that news, but I don't. I don't feel pleased, but I don't mourn. I don't know what to feel.

"Okay."

David looks at me for a long moment before speaking once more. "Right. In a while, an officer will stop by to take an official statement from you." David rises from his chair slowly "I'm glad I got there in time." He whispers the last sentence, reaching out to pat my hand softly.

Soon, he's left the room and I'm left alone again with a hollow feeling wanting to do nothing except lay down.

Leaning back into my hospital bed, I stare up at the ceiling, idly counting the number of ceiling tiles.

The officer comes and I have to tell the whole fucked up story again. He sits quietly, writing in his notebook at certain points and nodding at others.

He thanks me for talking to him and leaves again. And once again, I'm left with the memories of Jefferson and the dark room.

I've been in the hospital for three days when they decide I've gained enough of my strength back to be able to walk around. So of course I immediately want to go see Chloe.

Dr. Bryant steps into my room, smiling warmly at me. "Hello, Max. How are you feeling this afternoon?"

I shrug, watching as she sits in the chair by my bed. "I'm alright, I guess. When can I go see Chloe?"

"Straight to the point." She says, nodding slightly. "Well, I just went to see her before I came here, and she shares the impatience. She didn't even bother with any pleasantries. Right away, she asked how you were doing."

"How is she? Is she healing okay?"

"Yes, Max, she will be perfectly fine. Now, in response to your earlier question, you can go see her soon. You're strong enough to walk, and we will be discharging you as soon as we're certain there will be no long lasting effects."

I'm relieved by the news. Hospitals have always given me a bad feeling, and I've been in hospitals way too much lately.

"That's great. So how soon is soon?"

Dr. Bryant chuckles. "As soon as we're done here. I'll walk with you to her room. You two are inseparable, aren't you?"

"She's my best friend. One of the most important people in my life."

"I can tell. Now, I just have a few things to ask you before we go..."

We slowly walk down the hospital hallway, Dr. Bryant watching me to make sure that I'm alright.

Finally, the doctor gestures to a door on the left and we stop in front of it. She opens the door, stepping inside.

"Hello, Chloe."

"Hey, Doc. How come you're back so soon? I wasn't expecting to see you until this evening." Her voice is quiet, which is unusual. She sounds tired and almost like it hurts to speak, which makes sense with the broken ribs.

"I have a surprise. I believe that you'll enjoy it greatly."

Chloe doesn't respond. Dr. Bryant looks over her shoulder at me, gesturing for me to enter the room.

I do, and Chloe's eyes immediately go to me. "Max." She whispers, her voice breathy. The dark, angry bruise on her cheek makes me feel a spike of guilt in my stomach.

"Chloe. Hi." I don't know what to say. I'm just grateful that we're both still here and her eyes haven't completely lost their spark.

"Come here." She says, her voice still a whisper. "Looks like we're both in the hospital, again. Maybe we should work on that." I now stand by her bedside, a small smile growing on my lips at her humor.

It's the first time I've smiled and meant it since the dark room. "It's getting to be a bit of a problem. How are you feeling, Chloe?"

She struggles into a sitting position, a grimace on her face as she does it. "Hurting. I'm alright, though. I'll be okay. How are you?"

"I'm okay. He didn't hurt me. Other than trying to kill me, I mean. But he didn't... Physically harm me too much."

Chloe shoots a glance at Dr. Bryant, sighing softly. "We'll be okay. We can work through the pain together, Max."

Somehow I can tell that she means the shared mental pain that we'll both be going through. A silence falls over the room as I nod at her words, my head down.

After a few moments, Chloe breaks the silence again, her voice sound slightly cheerier. "Hey, we're on the news, though."

That surprises me. I haven't turned the television on once since I've been here, so I had no idea. "Really? What are they saying?"

"Oh, you know. Two vulnerable teenage girls abducted by a murderous psychopath. The apparent long line of kidnappings and killings by seemingly upstanding citizen Mark Jefferson. Police statements on how the hell they couldn't figure out what he was doing but two little girls could. That sorta stuff."

The humor is a defense mechanism, I know that. But I also don't blame her for using it.

We're quiet again, and I take her hand in my own. She's cold, but she squeezes my hand softly and for just a moment, everything feels alright.

"My parents are driving down." I tell Chloe a few days after I first saw her in her hospital room. The pain has gone down somewhat and the bruise on her cheek is starting to fade.

"When are they supposed to get into Arcadia?"

"Sometime tomorrow. I don't know what to say when I see them."

Chloe stares out the window, her expression tired and sad. "I understand. I still don't know what to say when Mom and David come around. I think they're both struggling too."

"David especially. He had to see everything down there."

A pause as Chloe hesitates to find the correct words. She finally does, turning to me with tears in her eyes. "He saved our lives. We're both still here because of David."

"I know." I whisper, reaching out to wipe a tear from her cheek. She turns her face into my hand, pressing into my palm.

Her words are muffled, but I still understand. "I owe him everything. He saved us."

"I know." I whisper again, gently stroking her cheek. "He cares about you so much. He's so glad that you're okay."

Chloe sobs, and I hold her.

My parents arrive the next day, late in the afternoon. They are in my room, staring at me in the silence. No one knows what to say or how to say it, just as predicted.

"Maxine," my mother begins, "we are so glad that you're still here. We are so lucky."

My father walks over to my bed with his long strides and envelops me in a bear hug. "Max, I love you so much. I was so scared, baby. Never, ever do that to me again."

"I'll try, Dad." I whisper, feeling tears gathering in my eyes. "N-no promises, but I'll try."

He chuckles, pulling away. My father quickly wipes at his cheeks, hoping that I don't notice the tears he's wiping away. "Smart ass. In all seriousness, though, I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too." I agree, sighing heavily. "We're both okay."

My mother quietly walk further into the room, her hands clasped in front of her. I glance at her, although she doesn't say anything.

"How is she?" Dad asks, his voice soft. "I'd like to see her if she can have visitors."

I nod in response to his statement. "She can. She'd love to see you. Both of you." I add, shooting another glance at my mother.

There's a slightly awkward pause as we all search for something to say. "So, Maxine... Will you finish school?"

I stare at my mother for a long moment, trying to figure our the best way to answer her question. "Probably not."

"What do you mean? Are you just going to let your scholarship go? You're not finishing high school?"

I groan, sliding my hand down my face. "Mom, I would appreciate it if you didn't lecture me right now. I apologize that I don't want to go back to the school where he worked."

"You could come back to Seattle with us and finish school there."

My dad looks at my mother, a hard look in his eyes. "Vanessa," he begins, his tone warning. "Max is right. Going back to Blackwell would not be a good choice right now. She's an adult and she can make her own choices by now."

She purses her lips, looking between the two of us. "Fine. You can be a dropout if you want." With that, she sweeps out of the room, leaving my dad and I behind.

He sighs, sinking into the chair next to my bed. "I'm so sorry, Max. I think it's the stress. I don't... I don't know why she's acting like this."

"It's not your fault, Dad." I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"For what, honey?" His big, warm hands envelop mine, encouraging me to look up at him. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Just... A lot of stuff. Making Mom so angry, I guess."

"Not your fault. It's her choice to be angry about things that don't matter right now."

"Okay. I think I'm going to stay with the Prices again. I don't... I won't feel comfortable in Seattle, either."

"Okay. That's okay, Max."

"The hospital wants us to do therapy together."

"Probably for the best. Are you okay? Do you need anything."

I shake my head, pulling my hands from his grasp. "I'm fine. You should go talk to Chloe. She loves you."

He chuckles as I tell him the room number. "The feeling is mutual. She's a good kid."

SIX MONTHS LATER

Things have calmed down, at least a little bit. My parents went back home soon after they arrived and Chloe and I went back home not long after that. She's healed, mostly, although she still hurts occasionally.

I dropped out of Blackwell. The memories of Jefferson would have been too painful. I took the GED, though, so at least that's something.

"Max?" Chloe says, breaking my train of thought up.

"Yeah?" I look up, glancing at the hair that only has a bit of blue at the ends now, because she's let the color fade and grow out.

"I've been thinking..." She starts, pulling the chair across me out and sitting down, her hands clasped and sitting on the table. "I think we should do something. Get out of Arcadia Bay for a while."

"Something like a road trip?"

"Yeah. Like a road trip."

I nod. And we make the plans, and in just a few short weeks, we have our trip mapped out and we're saying goodbye to David and Joyce.

"Oh, I'll miss you girls. Please be safe, sweethearts." Joyce says as she hugs the both of us rightly. She lets us go so we can say goodbye to David.

He rests one hand on each of our shoulders, a smile smile on his face. "Be careful. I will find out if you two get into trouble. Max, make sure this one doesn't strain herself. And have fun."

We both hug him, which seems to surprise yet delight him. "We will, Dave. Thank you."

He nods, watching as we step away. They smile, David wrapping an arm around Joyce's waist. We get into Chloe's truck, waving at them as Chloe pulls out of the driveway.

"Okay. Do we have everything we need?"

"Yeah, Max. We'll be good."

We'll be good. We might not be right now, but that's okay.

Someday, life will be good again. And we'll be together.


End file.
